


Dancing Between Sunlight and Moonlight

by CaptainLuky



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Don't worry, Drama, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff, Humor, No Smut, Not too much OC but still, Romance, Witch Curses, Witches, human turned into a pokemon, i use the japanese name for the characters, it's a semi au, posted on ff.net too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-03-24 17:30:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13816008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainLuky/pseuds/CaptainLuky
Summary: Finally at home after his adventure with Iris and Dento, Satoshi wants to find a new region to continue his quest to be a Pokemon Master in. Unfortunately for him, a spell gets cast on him by a witch, leaving him as a Pokemon in a region he has never known of. But, when a young honey blond chooses him as Starter, he would go on a very different journey. He'd never thought he would become a good Pokemon alongside the role of mentor to this girl. Being a Pokemon during the day and a human at night was never going to be easy. With the task of breaking the curse given to him, can he succeed in living a double life?





	1. Ne pactise pas avec la Sorcière

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Luky Greace here ! I just wanted to say here is my new fanfic project ! With my comic Elys, I love torturing myself for writing story lol. So here is the first chapter of it ! This fic happen at the end of BW, and for some writing problem, they never meet Alexia/Panchi, also this fic was inspired by Princess Tutu and some random Fairy Tale. It's the first time I wasn't corrected by Epicocity, so if you find some problems, we are sorry for that... AdvanceAlto helped me this time, it mean this fic is full european ! Have a nice moment and tell me your thought at the end ! And again... The Names of the characters and the Pokemon's noises are in Japanese, the other stuff are in English.  
> This fic was also posted on ff.net too (but it's only now I post my fic here uh...)
> 
> Satoshi : Ash, Hanako : Delia, Musashi : Jessie, Kojiro : James, Nyasu : Meowth

The wind whispered in his ears as he lay there staring at the clear sky and the faint cloud that crossed the sky, while Pikachu was lying on his belly at rest while listening to his own breathing. Satoshi thought back to his last two companions he had met on his last trip to Unova, Iris and Dento. They had left yesterday and he already felt a huge gap in his chest. It always happened when he finished a long adventure and his companions had to separate from him. When Takeshi announced that he would no longer accompany him so he could pursue another dream, he was even more depressed. The one who was one of his best companions had taken another path, parallel to him. Here, meeting the two natives of Unova, he would have hoped that they would stay with him again but in the end, it was the same scenario.

He exhaled loudly, in a sense, he then felt selfish. Of course he had to let them go after a while, since they did not all have the same dream, but it always felt empty in him and that never stopped. Every person he met, he had to let go. Fortunately his Pokemon did not leave. Of course, some of them left, as for example Pidgeot whose reason was the best example, but it was their choice. If they chose to leave, he could not stop them. But many of his Pokemon were still there. Pikachu was always there and nothing in the world would separate them. But every time...the void was still there and persisted...Satoshi had never really had real friends before Kasumi and Takeshi, human friends, and their company never did him any good.

Yet even though he was aware that he had never really had any friends before, why did he seem to lie to himself?

In a way, Satoshi was not sure of himself, but he ended up giving up his mental battle by shaking his head and then uttering a loud groan. Pikachu heard him and raised his head and his ears rose, but his trainer reassured him by scratching his head. He smiled looking at his best friend and did not need to understand that the two of them would always be together.

Together, they stood up, Satoshi rubbed his pants so that each twig of grassfell off, while Pikachu climbed one of his shoulders. He looked at him for a moment and then headed for the house. The path was not long, as he had not gone so far after all. That morning he had just the need to change his mind by getting some fresh air. Arriving in his house, he found his mother who was in her habit in the kitchen. They greeted each other from afar and Satoshi returned to his room, Pikachu sitting on his desk as he sat on his own chair. He looked at all his trophies, his badges, his emblems...That made him smile and filled him with nostalgia, but at the corner of his head, a small voice reminded him that it was not enough...The trophy of the league, it's what he wanted the most, to be a Pokemon Master. But, he threw away his thirst for success and thought of every memory his trophies brought him. The most important was the memories he kept.

He got up from the chair and moved his legs a little without wanting to leave the room. He finally sat on the floor and opened one of his cupboards and looked at several pockets of paper. He found some rare drawings he had liked to make. On each sheet was a drawing of a small Poliwag. Before Pikachu, it was one of his favorite Pokemon. Pikachu watched him flick through them, noting that in reality his trainer was creative without really applying, but did not wonder why his trainer was nostalgic. He looked at other drawings that seemed to be just stories of his adventures and then ended up noticing one of them. A different design from the others, which suddenly made his heart beat in his chest. The drawing itself represented him when he was six years old, holding the hand of a girl who wore a straw hat...The same one he wore when he was younger.

Who was this girl? He did not know anything about it. Why did she have the same hat as him? The mystery remained silent. Why was he holding her hand? Apart from his friends he had during his adventure, he has never held hands with a girl before. But if he did not remember, it wasn't important. She wasn't important...However, his thoughts told him the opposite, but he could not find a real answer. Whenever he tried to remember if he had met a girl, this girl, his memory seemed to hang.

After a moment without real thought to look at the drawing, he heard his mother call him. Pikachu, automatically, jumped on one of his shoulders and he rushed, without storing his old drawings, out of his room. He arrived in the dining room, where his mother was serving the dishes on the table. Pikachu jumped down to go to the floor and serve himself in his bowl, as he walked more slowly to sit down and his mother joined him with a smile. The meal was not really noisy, just the background of the television that was on the news channel. Satoshi only cared about his plate, but his mother looked at him with a smile and then told him:

"So," she began to say. "Have you decided on your next destination?"

Satoshi stopped then and swallowed the last piece he had in his mouth.

"I don't know…" he replied without much change of his mood, and then he went for a bite again.

Hanako folded her hands and she confessed with the same smile.

"Why don't you try the Kanto League again?"

He nodded, knowing it's true that he had never really thought about it. In the end it might be a good idea, with all his Pokemon now trained. Maybe he could

fight the league again and take his revenge with his Charizard, who finally obeyed him. Others too, might be happy to try, like Infernape or his newer addition, Krookodile. Unova had not really given him any good training, but he had understood the lesson, he should not let go as he had done. He looked at Pikachu to see if he had followed the conversation, but Pikachu gave him a look full of determination and showed by through his look that he had fully understood. He smiled at his mother and he tried to answer him, but then the news coming from the television presented a piece of news, without it having any real usefulness.

" _Special Flash:  The Kanto Champion, after eight years of silence, apparently left for Alola with one of his ex-rivals. He and the Sinnoh Champion have come to inaugurate a Pokemon tournament. The originality of this tournament would come from the fact that it is taking place in a giant tree and it is entirely possible to face any champion or other important people in the Pokemon's enterprise._"

Satoshi blinked. Alola? Pokemon tournaments? That was his new destination! He could go, participate and even meet the champion! The excitement took possession of his own body and his eyes were lighting up! His mother looked at him, sighing, but she could not help but be happy for him.

If Satoshi now had a new goal, then one could be sure he will go all the way. She watched him rise with great tenacity.

"I know what I want to do now!" he shouted loudly.

Hanako nodded.

"So you wish to go to Alola?"

"Yes!" he said in the same tone. "First I'll beat the Kanto champion and then I'll come back here to beat him again!"

Hanako laughed softly, and the two ended up smiling together, but then Satoshi sat back in his chair. They talked while eating, his mother still reminded him that if he had to embark on a new adventure, he had to change his underwear frequently, but Satoshi groused, and that he should call her more often and be careful...Then the television talked about another subject, one that Hanako this time followed with greater attention.

" _It's been eight months since little Temmie, son of the mayor of Pewter City, disappeared and is still missing. The child had just finished his Pokemon journey in the area and wished to study after. The father of the child was not against his decision, but the reason for his disappearance stays a mystery…_ "

Hanako's mood changed. Whenever she heard this kind of news, she could not help but always make herself sad as a mother. She secretly feared that something similar could happen to her only son with all his crazy adventures. She had the feeling that Satoshi often hid things from her, because Satoshi did not like to talk about his problems. But deep down, she knew that misery had come to him. She had already seen scars on his body once.

Satoshi noticed her, and he raised an eyebrow and asked softly, "Are you ok?"

She caught herself on hearing the sound of her son's voice.

"Yes, yes..." she let out a breath. "I'm fine...It's just that for a long time, there are a lot of disappearances in the area, and I'm just afraid that..."

"Do not worry Mom, I'll be careful." he reassured her with a sincere smile.

Hanako nodded and stroked his head, but Satoshi did not like it when she thought he was a little boy. It was quite disturbing for him, but he looked at the television, and saw that the journalist was presenting another person who had disappeared and had not been found yet. He could not do anything about that, so he just had to be careful, and as long as he had his Pokemon with him, he felt safe.

* * *

Whatever the problems, his decision was made! He was going to Alola! He would go to this tournament to face all these people he dreamed to face! But this time he had to keep his cool, though before that, he had to train. It's true that because Alola was a new region, it might be quite obvious to make new discoveries there, however it was not long before he did as he did previously in Unova. He would meet some Pokemon, but first he would train the strongest before leaving.

While walking to Viridian City, he did not find any particular Pokemon, not even that old Fearow which was the first Pokemon he had sought to capture and which had caused him a lot of trouble on his first day. What had become of it? He shrugged. On his walk, after half an hour, he kicked pebbles, as Pikachu seemed to have covered the same area as him. Maybe he should go somewhere else?

But the calm passed when they heard a noise in a bush. Finally, a Pokemon! Pikachu took charge while Satoshi waited patiently. The bush moved in all directions and then something came out of it and fell to the ground...No, someone. Satoshi, instead of being disappointed that it was not a Pokemon, rushed to the person to help them. He noticed quickly that it was a little girl...who seemed much younger than him. She got up and screamed, placing her hand on the middle of her face.

"My nose!"

She began to rub it in all directions so that the pain could disappear. The boy from Pallet Town and Pikachu looked up and down at the little girl. She had silver hair...Rather purple gray. A small braid hung behind her and her clothes were...Well they were...short. She wore sleeves on her arms, a small skirt which made thighs easily visible, and a very short top with her belly exposed. He was a little puzzled, but it was intriguing. He kept looking down at her and wondered how old she must be, not noticing that the girl had stopped rubbing her nose.

"Stop watching me like that! " She shouted in a sharp tone.

The boy was taken by surprise and then turned his head in the opposite direction.

"Sorry!"

He did not look at her for the moment, but he felt that she had gotten up by the look of Pikachu. And he heard a throat clearing, so he turned his head to see the little girl now standing, but did not have a face that was very welcoming.

"So, are you Satoshi of Pallet Town?" she finally broke the silence.

He opened his mouth, rather stunned that a girl like her could know him, especially since she did not seem to be a fan. He stood up to face her and noticed how small she was compared to him, he who was already a small size for his age too. Moreover, he noticed on her forehead that the girl had a kind of golden horn...Strange as it were...And his eyes remained in place. "Are you...Satoshi from Pallet Town...?" she asked again, but sounding more bored.

Satoshi stopped looking at her horn and looked at her gray eyes.

"Of course I am!"

She squinted, looking at him with a mischievous little smile.

"Are you sure?" she asked in a way that was more malicious.

"Pika..." Pikachu blurted out, as he seemed pretty tired of the questions.

Satoshi began to frown and gave her a hard look.

"Of course I'm sure of it!" he answered, his tone rising.

The girl leaned forward on her tiptoes to be as close as possible to his face.

"So you traveled to several regions, didn't you?" she questioned, while listening to his breathing, although the boy was quite embarrassed by the situation.

"Of course!"

She recovered and shrugged, responding in a simple way and closing her eyes.

"All right, I need your help."

Once again, the native of Pallet Town was perplexed. He exchanged a look with Pikachu, who was not terribly sure of really understanding the situation. Before she could continue, Satoshi threw her a question without much of a change to his expression. "Ah, are you lost?"

As she was ready to leave in one direction, she froze and winced. She turned to him a little more angry, approaching him as she had done a minute ago and the boy took a step back.

"Do you think that if I were lost, I would ask a kid like you for the way?! "

Pikachu was even more bored by this girl's attitude that he was almost ready to attack her, but Satoshi gave a half-smile and was quite exasperated at her reaction.

"Excuse me...I thought you had lost your parents..." he said, trying to calm her down. But that only hardened the girl.

"My parents?! Because you think I'm a kid lost in the middle of the forest?" she shouted at the poor boy's face. "I am much older than you! What did you think?"

He and Pikachu then stopped and looked at her from top to bottom again trying to understand why and how with such a small size she could be older. It annoyed her even more that he was concerned, but she forced herself to calm down by pressing her fists together.

"You know what?" she started again, but more calmly. "We will have a battle! And if I win, you'll have to help me!"

As Satoshi's bewildered look disappeared, a new and determined smile appeared on his face. He raised his fist in front of her, accepting the challenge.

"Okay, very good, I accept! I need to train!"

The girl exhaled a long breath and finally smiled...But her eyes were half closed, and it seemed to pierce the eyes of Satoshi. She put a finger on her lip.

"You will not regret it, will you?" strangely, her voice had changed its intonation, as if the girl's voice she had used had been replaced by a more mature voice.

Satoshi did not care and just nodded.

"I accept all challenges without regret!"

The girl felt the need to add something to what he had said, but she changed her mind, hiding a smirk.

"Very good, Satoshi. It's your tenacity that I needed so much." she moved to find a stable ground where they could have their battle without any problems. Satoshi followed, trying to rethink what this girl had said previously. She was not a little girl, and she would need him for something. He was now curious to know what she wanted from him...Anyway, the deal was that if she won, she could ask for his service.

"By the way, what's your name?" he finally asked.

She turned, curiously surprised.

"My name is Estelle."

"And why do you need my help, Estelle?" he asked again, scratching his head.

She did not turn around, but whispered, "You'll know if you let me win..." she ended up stopping when she found what she was looking for. "Here, it's good."

She placed herself opposite of him and took a Pokeball in her hand which she activated directly.

"Gogoat! I choose you!" she shouted, throwing the Pokeball.

A Pokemon that seemed to be close to a goat and covered with a rather mellow brown fur, around its neck a large mane of leaf which was rather light green. There was no doubt that the Pokemon could be a Grass-type. Surprisingly, its horns were golden, so it could be that the Pokemon wasn't in the usual color and it shone. The Pokemon shook its head and Estelle placed her hands on her hips in the meantime.

The first reflex that Satoshi had was to use Pokedex to find out what kind of Pokemon he was facing. However, the Pokedex grayed out, leaving a message that the Pokemon was unknown. He looked at the Pokemon and the trainer, trying to figure out what it meant.

"Where did your Pokemon come from? I've never seen it!"

Estelle sighed for a moment and brushed her hair back. "Gogoat and I come from Kalos. A region quite far from here."

Satoshi raised an eyebrow. Kalos? Strangely it sounded familiar, but he did not know why. So he did not think about it and pointed to Pikachu as his Pokemon for the fight.

"Well, the fight can begin!" Estelle shouted, raising her arm.

Satoshi flickered in his decision, but then he decided to move forward. He pointed his right arm at the Gogoat. "Alright Pikachu, let's start with Quick Attack!"

Pikachu left immediately and took a rather whitish glow, going in various directions to confuse the Pokemon in front of him and he was ready to hit the unknown Pokemon. However the Pokemon did not flinch at all. Estelle watched the little yellow Pokemon come closer and followed him with no problem.

Before Pikachu threw himself against him, she finally screamed, "Gogoat, use Bulk up!"

The Pokemon surrounded itself with a strange red aura and seemed to inflate itself and despite this, Pikachu rushed against it, banging against it. It only shrank the Gogoat a few inches and Pikachu landed, as the dust of the ground flew up in the air. The Gogoat shook his head again, but did not seem to be in any bad shape. Estelle turned her head to her Pokemon to look at him better, but obviously did not say anything to see that her Pokemon was anything but serious.

Satoshi clenched his fists, then he went on. "Use Thunderbolt now!"

Pikachu's cheeks twinkled but before he could send the sauce, Estelle went on quickly as well. "Rock Slide, now!"

Dozens of huge stones appeared over the Gogoat and at a high speed, each stone flung itself at Pikachu. The yellow mouse tried to avoid them, while trying to get closer, however he got hit by one head on. Pikachu was thrown back, but managed to land on his feet.

"Are you okay, Pikachu?" Satoshi asked with worry, with Pikachu making it clear that everything was fine.

Estelle hid her mouth with her hand placed on her, as a sign of reflection. Then she ordered another move. "Gogoat, use Rock Slide again!"

The stones that levitated again went towards Pikachu, but without waiting for an order from Satoshi, Pikachu could avoid the first one. Satoshi tried to analyze the situation, and then an idea came to his mind. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail on the stones!"

Pikachu's tail shone and every stone that came in front of him was destroyed by his Iron Tail. His trainer made a gesture with his fist and shouted at his Pokemon. "Jump on the stones! Get closer to it!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as it followed the command. He jumped on each stone that approached and used it as a stepping stone to come closer to the opposing Pokemon. Estelle's eyes narrowed a little, but she kept her fear hidden and shouted, "Gogoat, keep using Rock Slide on him!"

More stones appeared and all rushed towards Pikachu, but he managed to destroy them in severals swings soon fell right on the Gogoat.

"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!"

Pikachu kept falling, but did did a pirouette on himself, summoning a huge ball filled with energy on his tail. The Gogoat trainer gritted her teeth and had no choice but to scream in panic, "Bulk Up again!"

The panicked Pokemon used his defensive attack, but Pikachu sent the attack towards it. A small explosion came about when the attack hit and Pikachu landed near Satoshi. The smoke cleared for a moment, showing the Gogoat being a little weakened by the attack, but still nowhere near done. The only thing to note was that electricity seemed to run through its body.

"Are you okay, Gogoat?" Estelle asked in a worried tone. The Pokemon shook its body in all directions, but the electricity did not disappear. An almost winning smile was present on Satoshi's face.

"We've almost won, Pikachu!" he exclaimed.

"Pikachu!" came the accompanying cheer from his best friend.

What they did not know at the moment was that, not far from them, a group seemed to be spying on them in their corner, but they only seemed interested in the two Pokemon. Two people, a man and a Pokemon, watched quietly with the help of special binoculars.

"This Gogoat seems to resist Pikachu well." he announced after watching the still ongoing battle.

"If this Pokemon is so resistant to Pikachu, then we'll have to capture it as well," the Pokemon said, who could speak the human language. "In addition, it comes from a distant region!"

"Kalooooos!" exclaimed a third, more feminine voice.

The two turned around, rather bored of the acting that their companion pulled off. The woman in question had various magazines and seemed to make a list of what she intended to do or order.

"Kalos, which means beautiful! Like me!" she seemed to be shaking like a little girl who had just been offered candy. "Kalos, the place where there are the best beauty contests. If you win the biggest ceremony, you can become a queen! Queen of Kalos! Queen of beauty!"

She ended up laughing quite hysterically while playing with her magazines.

"It's decided!" she said with her fist raised. "We will go to Kalos! Screw Pikachu! Screw the Twerp! I'm going to Kalos!"

The other two stopped caring. They couldn't control her, so they decided not to worry about her at the moment and continued their spying as they ignored her.

Satoshi repeated his usual gestures again when he launched an attack.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack again!"

Pikachu went faster this time, knowing that Gogoat's defense had increased. Satoshi had his own little idea. But Estelle decided not to remain frozen and then launched her own attack. "Gogoat, take the opportunity to use Horn Leech!"

Satoshi had not planned for that. The Pokemon threw itself forward with his head ready to smash Pikachu and its horns turned green. Pikachu tried to go as fast as possible. Satoshi tried to scream at Pikachu, however he did not have enough time and Pikachu attacked with full force. When Pikachu touched the horns of the Pokemon, his body turned green too, and a strange energy seemed to come from Pikachu's body to be sucked in by Gogoat.

"Pi..pika..." The yellow mouse winced.

Pikachu was then thrown back, but did not land on his feet this time.

"Pikachu!" Satoshi shouted, hoping his friend could get up.

But as tenacious as his best friend was, Pikachu got up, with difficulty certainly, but he succeeded. Estelle smiled as her Gogoat, who seemed to have recovered, moved closer to her to be caressed by her.

"You share your tenacity with your Pokemon, it's wonderful." she patted her Pokemon's head. "But I do not think it will help you win, not today. I've already boosted my Gogoat's power twice. Another shot, and Pikachu will faint. "

Satoshi frowned and Pikachu breathed loudly. If the physical approach was not working, he had to use the special approach. He looked at his Pokemon and he took a deep breath.

"Pikachu, you have to stay as far away as you can, if you want us to win. You must not let him touch you." Pikachu nodded and he raised his tail. Estelle's Pokemon sat up again. It was the last round.

"Gogoat, Rock Slide again!"

Again stones appeared and threw themselves on the yellow mouse, but Satoshi didn't give up. He did the same thing again, but Estelle didn't point out new attacks, she waited patiently for Pikachu to suffer. Pikachu fell several times, but got up every time, even though he was physically exhausted. Satoshi brandished one of his fists and gave Pikachu a new command. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu did not wait at all and launched his attack in the direction of the Gogoat, sensing the electricity that was rushing to arrive at the Gogoat. However, Estelle smiled. "Use Earthquake, Gogoat!"

Fear took hold of Satoshi, as he did not foresee this. Gogoat lifted both of its front legs up in the air and let them fall back to the ground. The ground began to shake in the direction of Pikachu, who was panicking, and cracked at a record speed. Pikachu was launched in the air by the attack.

"Pika!" he shouted, receiving the attack with full force.

"Pikachu!" this time it was Satoshi who shouted in worry.

Pikachu fell to the ground, but did not get up this time. He had fainted. Satoshi ran over to him and knelt by his side to take his Pokemon in his arms. His best friend seemed to blame himself when he opened his eyes. He had not won, but it did not matter. He had just underestimated his opponent and moreover, he had fought an unknown Pokemon. It gave him a new lesson after all. Satoshi looked up to see Estelle approaching him with her Gogoat.

"Do you see?" she began. "It was not bad for a child."

She ended up laughing. Even though he knew he had been wrong to underestimate her, he did not like the fact that she could make fun of him. He stood still, holding Pikachu in his arms.

"I never faced a Kalos Pokemon." he admitted. "Are there even more powerful ones in Kalos?"

Estelle shrugged. Her Gogoat rubbed at her. Now she moved closer to Satoshi, staring at him.

"You lost, so you owe me a service." she finally announced. Satoshi began smiling nervously, ashamed at having lost.

"It must not be that bad, right?" he asked, hoping that to be the case.

But Estelle didn't flinch, her eyes half closed again, and she looked at him as if she could perceive things beyond his soul. Satoshi's spine shuddered, but he tried to keep a cool head.

"Satoshi, do you want to know why I need you to help me?" she questioned in a very calm tone.

Before he could react to the question, Pikachu was removed from his hands by a mechanical hand, the same happening to Gogoat. The two trainers, surprised, shouted at their Pokemon. They were each in a mechanical hand and both of them tried to struggle to get out. But the mechanical hands were each connected to a balloon basket. And Satoshi recognized very quickly what balloon it was.

"It's not true..." he squeaked when he saw the balloon.

They heard laughter as one after the other appeared to observe the spectacle that occurred.

"It's not true, if you ask us this or that…"

"The pity of the world is what responds!"

"To prevent the destruction of the world!"

"To protect the peace of the world!"

"To stand by the evils of love and truth!"

"The lovely, charmy villains!"

"Musashi!"

"Kojiro!"

"The pair from Team Rocket soars through the galaxy!"

"A white hole, a white tomorrow awaits us!"

"Something like that!"

"Sonansuuuu!"

Satoshi shouted in a show of his anger. "Team Rocket! Give Pikachu back!"

Musashi chuckled and amused herself with childish gestures. "No! Pikachu will be going to our boss and then we go to Kalos!"

"Because we will allow ourselves a good holiday!" Kojiro added.

Kojiro put a hand in his hair to let the wind run through it and Nyasu spoke quietly. "The Twerp doesn't have his other Pokemon! He will not be able to do much!"

Nyasu finally ended up sneering while pressing his dashboard.

Pikachu, despite the fatigue, tried several times to use a Thunderbolt attack, but nothing happened, as the hand did not give away, while Gogoat did nothing. Estelle had nothing to say for the moment, but she had not lost sight of her Pokemon, as if they were only communicating through looks. Satoshi creaked, because he didn't actually have his other Pokemon with him.

He approached her and asked with hope. "Estelle, do you have any other Pokemon? We can't let Pikachu and Gogoat be taken, but I can still go get my Pokemon to help if there is a center not too far from here!"

Estelle did not change her expression until she gave him the same look that Satoshi always had, which made him trust in her. Estelle gently nudged her head and smiled kindly.

"It's alright, Satoshi. Even if you lost and you have to do me a favor, here's what I can offer you."

Estelle slowly raised a hand towards the hot air balloon and she closed her eyes. First, she felt her body go numb and then she narrowed her eyes as she felt the pain pass through her. Satoshi looked at her with an open mouth, but then he noticed that the horn on her head was slowly shining. He looked in the direction of the balloon and then saw that the hot air balloon had stopped.

Inside, Musashi noticed that they had stopped and looked below to see the reactors.

"Nyasu, is there a problem? We're not moving."

Nyasu began to panic.

"But, I'm trying to move!"

Kojiro looked at the dashboard with Nyasu, trying to understand what was not working. Nyasu pressed all the buttons, but instead of moving forward, they felt the balloon recoil.

"Is there a Pokemon which is using Telekinesis?" Kojiro asked, looking around.

Estelle gritted her teeth more and more. Satoshi could not believe what he was seeing, as Estelle alone managed to hold the Team Rocket balloon. Yet she seemed to be suffering. The balloon fell back towards them and then Estelle's hand closed on itself to become a fist.

Musashi sniffed several times, noticing that there was a strange odor in the air.

"Guys, I don't know if..." she had no time to finish her sentence as she saw, with Kojiro and Nyasu seeing it as well, the dashboard exploding. Without warning, the whole balloon exploded and Team Rocket was propelled into the air, shouting their last words. The mechanical hands that were attached to the hot air balloon fell and opened afterwards, letting the two Pokemon fall towards the ground. Satoshi rushed in to save Pikachu, trying to gain reach him in time and catch him. He missed though, but he noticed that Gogoat and Pikachu did not fall towards the ground very fast, but rather slowly. Pikachu finally touched the ground and ran to Satoshi, who he caught in his arms.

"Aaah, Pikachu! I was so scared!" he declared fearfully, Pikachu rubbing himself against his cheek.

Gogoat also went to its Mistress, who had her knees on the ground and was out of breath. Satoshi turned around and noticed it, so he ran towards her.

"Estelle, are you alright?"

She made a sign with her arm that he had to stop and that he was not to help her. Her Gogoat lowered its head and Estelle took one of its horns to pull herself up. "I...I'm fine..."

Satoshi did not believe her fully, but he tried to deal with it. So he tried not to worry if that's what she wanted.

"Are you a telepath?" he asked, looking up and down.

Estelle did not look at him, but she shook her head, clearly meaning no.

"It's more complicated than that..." she told him.

His face was saddened at the poor little girl who seemed to be breathing with difficulty. She finally raised her head showing the fatigue she had. "That's why I need your help..."

Satoshi tilted his head, since he could not see how he could help in this kind of situation. She tried to recover normally, but Gogoat was there to make her stand up. She tried to talk as best she could.

"Satoshi, from Pallet Town, I need someone like you. A tenacious person," she cut herself to catch her breath and continued. "You have had a long journey. You have traveled several regions. You have won just as you have lost. You have had lots of meetings, and most often, you let go of these meetings by shedding a tear...But you never gave up on your goal."

Satoshi looked at Pikachu who seemed to understand him, but he did not know if he should feel flattered or something else. And then, why did she need to feel forced to say all of this to him? Estelle continued again, almost as if she was reading his own story as an open book.

"You learned a lot of things, you never gave up...All of this journeying has forged you and made you what you are. Yet, despite that..." she stopped and hesitated for what she was about to say. "You are not complete. "

Complete. This word became bitter for him even if he did not understand the meaning that Estelle gave him. Still, was it penalizing? And how was he incomplete? Was it important? His heart hurt, as if he blamed himself, ashamed to not be what she had said. He shook his head and looked serious, but frightened by Estelle while taking a step back and tightening Pikachu against him.

"I don't understand…"

Estelle smiled and even with her weakness she tried to walk towards him.

"It doesn't matter. I'm too incomplete. Even if it's totally different." she paused, looking with amusement at Satoshi's head. "I am cursed...so I am very limited in my powers and can not go back to my home in Kalos."

Satoshi understood the second sentence, but what was that about being cursed? Cursed in which way? Someone had cast a spell on her? What kind of witch would have done it?

"That's why I need you, so you can save me!" she announced with more enthusiasm.

Satoshi blinked and said shyly, "So I have to find some kind of cure?"

She nodded, but continued to speak, "I want you to find a way to break the curse. You and your tenacity."

He looked at Pikachu who was equally intrigued.

"So I have to...do a search...with my Pokemon, right?"

This time, Estelle shook her head and replied more persistently while pointing at it and placing a finger on his chest.

"You don't need your Pokemon! I just need you and you alone!"

This surprised the two friends. But Satoshi didn't intend to leave his Pokemon here. He stepped back again, and the girl's finger retreated.

"But what do you want me to do without my Pokemon?!"

"Oh," she began softly. "Let's say it's very simple..."

She finally closed her eyes and opened her mouth wide to form an evil smile. "The Pokemon, it will be you!"

Satoshi's pupils widened, then gasped as his heart tightened. Pikachu reacted immediately, just as worried about what this girl was doing.

"Satoshi, I'm going to place a curse on you that will be linked to mine so that you can solve it. This way, I would be free too!"

He did not know if she was serious or not, but it was out of the question for him to be cursed by a kid who had beaten him in a Pokemon Battle. The deal was just that he did...a service for her but...not that way! He took a step back. Pikachu, in his arms, did not seem to agree with her either, as he was ready to attack. But Estelle now had a look...and it was so empty that it annoyed him, but he ended up screaming at her.

"No way something like that happens to me! I have something else to do than being a Pokemon and breaking curses!"

It was true, before all, he was here because he wanted to train, so that he would then go to Alola and meet the champion of his region and promise him that he would win against him. And then come back and reshuffle the League again.

Estelle lowered her eyes.

"That's right, it's not very appropriate..." she kept her gaze hidden. but her mouth grew changed into a smirk. "But...I won and you lost. That is why you must do this for me."

Before he could retort, he began to gasp, knocking Pikachu from his arms, who hastened to be at his feet to see if he was okay. A strange sensation ran through his chest. He breathed heavily as his vision began to blur. He put his left hand on his chest and he finally dropped to his knees, while trying to breathe the best he could. Pikachu called him, trying not to lose him mentally. He noticed that he was gradually becoming incredibly pale and his breathing quickened. Estelle got closer and knelt before him. Pikachu, displeased, approached her and yelled at her, imploring to stop whatever was going on. Estelle had not calculated for it, but she raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Indirectly, Pikachu began to fall to the ground, as if he were exhausted. He murmured the name of his trainer and eventually closed his eyes as he lost consciousness.

Satoshi had not reacted to Pikachu, as he was still in a sensation that drained his energy, drops of cold sweat running down his back and his face. It was then that he felt something go back in his throat to come out of his mouth, spitting out something similar to water and when he finished, he started to cough. Estelle watched him.

"It happens often the first time." she confided to him, even though she knew he was no longer focused on his surroundings.

Satoshi felt his lungs tighten. He felt like he was dying. Estelle grabbed the boy's chin while ignoring that his body was so cold and moist in order to be confronted with his frightened eyes on her. He became aware of her one last time. Looking at her, she suddenly seemed so different...more...older...

"Break the curse and find what will make you complete."

Satoshi's frightened and tired eyes stared at the woman for a moment until he finally closed them and he eventually collapsed to the ground...

* * *

He felt soft when he regained consciousness. He opened his eyes with difficulty and his vision was terribly vague. He closed them and opened them several times to finally become aware of his surroundings. He seemed to be on a kind of plain, with a small lake and several Pokemon he knew and some he had never seen before. These unknown Pokemon disturbed him. Looking at the sky, he saw a glass ceiling where the rays of the sun could pass through easily. The question now was, how did he get there? When he focused on a small group of Pokemon in the distance, he felt that although they were speaking in their language, he could understand what they were saying. He was used to understanding Pikachu, but here it was as if his ears had been used for that and now it was in his head it was completely understandable.

"Kero..." he murmured to himself.

Realizing that his voice had changed, a strange panic settled. He tried to say something else, but the same word came back. He pressed his throat but…a strange moss was all he could feel around his neck and his hands. He was no longer human at all. He examined them both and noticed that he had only three huge fingers on each. Looking at his whole body, he saw that his body was light blue and other parts of his body were white. He also noticed how he was smaller than usual. He ran to the small lake in panic and he saw his reflection.

His heart was beating fast and his body shook. His reflection was nothing human, no hair, no skin. His eyes were out of his head and full yellowish with two white points being his nose. Satoshi had become nothing more than a Pokemon. A Pokemon he didn't even know.


	2. "Si tu m'apprivoises, nous aurons besoin l'un de l'autre."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today was the big day for Serena, she will receive her first Pokemon ! Except she wouldn't never know this one would be a bit problematic...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, sorry for the long upload here, it's just I forgot to upload lol, on FF.net you still have the chapter :)
> 
> Like always, the chapter use the Japanese names for the character and the English name for the town and Pokemon (except the Pokemon's scream or whatever). So here a quick lexicon: Satoshi = Ash, Sana = Shauna, Trova = Trevor, Platane = Sycamore, Haruka = May, Hikari = Dawn, Takeshi = Brock, Dento = Cilan. (Next time I will do the lexicon at the end.)

A small Fletching was flying above a field, hurrying to land on the ledge of an open window of a house. It entered quietly and jumped gently to the human who was preparing breakfast. The young woman noticed it and gave it a wink, followed by a smile. "It's already time, right?"

It replied by hopping and shaking its little head.

"Serena is still not up. Can you give her a hand again?" the little flying Pokemon nodded its head again at the question, and flew towards the stairs. The young woman smiled and took her cup of coffee, drinking a sip. She lowered the cup when she heard the doorbell. Opening the door, she wasn't surprised to see two faces that were familiar to her. A girl with matte skin and a tall boy with hair that could almost touch his shoulders stood in front of her, and she gave them a smile as she greeted them. "Calem, Sana, come on in!"

The girl entered, hands behind her back, filled with a strange aura of excitement while the boy, who was calmer and serene, followed. He looked at the mother with a surprised look. "Serena isn't up yet?"

She didn't answer him immediately, only taking a sip from her cup. Immediately, the two newcomers jumped when they heard a loud cry come from the upper floor. The woman, acting as if it was natural, lowered her cup and looked at the two young people with the same smile. "She's coming down."

Before either of them could answer, they heard the same voice who had just shouted come closer, seeming to be lamenting. A girl taller than Sana, but shorter than Calem entered the room they were in. Dressed in a pink pajamas with a pink ribbon in her hair, nothing made her as angry as the little red bird on her little ribbon, who was just laughing at her.

"Every time! Every time you do this to me! I hate you!" she stopped complaining when she saw the other two people and her mother. Sana had a big smile on her lips and kept laughing. The Fletching flew off her head to land on her mother's shoulder, while the young lady felt ashamed. She tightened on herself as she spoke. "Oh, hi guys..."

Sana didn't wait and darted to the girl, who had just woken up, as if it had been months since she had seen her. Serena was at first a little embarrassed, but patted her on the shoulder and then pulled back from her. She looked at the boy who approached her. "Serena, you weren't going to arrive late, were you?"

Serena blinked a few times as she looked at the taller boy. Sannah lost her playful mood, showing concern when she noticed her friend who seemed lost to what the boy had just said.

"Serena!" she said with a rather sharp voice. "You weren't going to forget the day we all go together to get our first Pokemon back in Lumiose City!"

The information reached her brain and she jumped.

"Oh yes, it's true!" she finally said and then went in all directions "I must hurry!"

She ended up going upstairs without being followed and the others looked at her equally cheerfully.

"The bus to Lumiose City leaves in thirty minutes!" Calem added, intending to make her much more panicked, which worked as a scream rose again.

When the girl had finished putting on her clothes, a red skirt and a black top, she now began to hesitate, not knowing which hat she wanted to wear. Fortunately she had already prepared her bag in advance. She had her box of pokepoffles, her other lunch box, a toilet case, spare clothes and also a small sleeping bag that weighed things down a little. She had to take it because, according to Calem, it could be that she would spend her nights under the stars, something she didn't particularly want. She glanced between a pink hat and another hat that was purple, still lost between the two. She wasn't disturbed when she heard her mother coming to her door, but this time with a rather tight expression. "What're you waiting for, Serena? It'll soon be ten minutes!"

She turned to her with a sad face, two hats in each of her hands. "I don't know which one to take!"

Her mother was annoyed with her behavior and she pointed to her daughter's place without thinking. "Take the purple one."

Serena's gesture was one of disagreement as she threw the purple hat on her bed and put the pink hat on her head, happy to finally have the hat on her head. Her mother raised an eyebrow at her reaction and Serena noticed it.

"Look Mom, I'll always choose the opposite of what you suggest to me, because I know it's the best choice for me!" she explained to her mother.

"If you think so..." her mother snapped, quite motionless. "But, hurry up now, your friends are waiting for you."

She quickly took her bag, putting it on her back, and then went down the stairs at the same speed, finding herself in the same room where her two other friends were. Sana wore a worried expression. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Ahhh..." Serena said, at first surprised by the question, and then shaking her head. "No, I'll be fine. I'll eat something in Lumiose City!"

Her mother joined them and before her daughter left for good, she asked without any real hesitation. "By the way, when will you come home? You know, it should be as fast as possible. You've to finish your training for the Rhyhorn race!"

It tired the young honey blond, but she didn't linger to give a long answer. "I don't know. I'll see when I get back..."

The young woman raised an eyebrow and she tried to say something, but her daughter took off with speed. "Don't worry, Mom! The important thing is that one day, I'll return!"

Serena was the first to open the door of the house and say goodbye, followed by her two friends, who were quite embarrassed by the situation. They said farewell to Serena's mother and joined their friend. Outside, the girl hurried out of her garden, shouting a goodbye to the family's Rhyhorn and was joined by her two companions. They all walked together and found themselves at the bus stop. While waiting for the bus to arrive, Serena sighed heavily. Calem smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder.

"It'll refresh you, you'll see." he tried to comfort her.

"You both know why I'm doing this..." she recalled in a morose tone.

"Well, tell yourself, thanks to this journey, you'll learn something new in your life. Exploration is important too." he added, sure of himself.

Sana looked at her friend as well and with her childish expression she added softly. "But the Rhyhorn races are good too..."

As soon as she said her sentence, Serena got pissed off. "No! It's so annoying to have a mother who, twenty-four hours a day, tells you what your future will be like!"

Calem tried to calm her down. "You know, it could be useful for you to know. Imagine during your journey you might have to ride a Rhyhorn!"

"I can' see why I'd need to ride a Rhyhorn again..." she mumbled.

Calem sighed boredly, knowing his friend had a sort of grudge against the races in general. It was normal, in a sense, since the girl was the daughter of a Rhyhorn race champion, and from a very young age she was very connected to the racing world and also to Pokemon. Although Serena was very accustomed to very docile Pokemon, like Rhyhorn, she didn't see how it would be useful to her, yet Calem knew she was wrong and that it would help her on her journey. Even though she had no real purpose on this journey, everything she knew could be useful to her.

"Anyway, think of today!" he tried to change the conversation. "You'll receive your first Pokemon and you'll certainly start a wonderful odyssey!"

It didn't change Serena's mindset much, but she changed her expression at least by blinking. Sana, taking Calem's mood and transformation into excitement, then shouted. "Yes! I can't wait to have my little Fennekin! I hope it'll be a female! Like, during Tripokalon, I could dress it up! And between girls, we'll certainly love the same thing!"

Calem laughed at her reaction, though Serena said nothing.

"That's why I'm going to take Chespin." Calem added. "Cute at the first evolution and strong at the last! Perfect for the League."

Serena looked at the floor and thought about the Pokemon she was going to receive. She had to take Froakie, not by choice, but because it was the last one left and she hadn't really decided which one to take, although she admitted to having had a soft spot for Fennekin. Sana was too cheerful to not receive it, so she had decided to give it to her as the good friend she was.

Noticing her distraught mood, Calem decided to reassure her. "You know, Froakie can be a great Pokemon! The latest evolution is downright cool! Greninja seems like an epic Pokemon, but it's not my style...Maybe with you it'll be the right style."

She turned to him, but before she could add anything else, the bus arrived. Sannah climbed up and stayed in the front row to look at the landscape, as Serena and Calem stood side by side. Serena stared at the speeding trees, but Calem only had his eyes on her. He knew there was something wrong with her. So he took her hand and sent her a signal. "Hey, you know I'll always be there to help you."

She looked at him for a moment and nodded, but withdrew her hand from him and kept looking away.

* * *

In the laboratory, one could almost hear people screaming outside. Two boys, one big and one small, were sitting side by side and breathing very loudly. Eyes closed and tired, their mouths opened to breathe as best as they could. The big boy attempted to share what he felt with the smaller boy, even if he already knew it, since both of them had gone through the same experience. "Terrible, this Pokemon. I would never have imagined that capturing a Pokemon makes me get so exhausted..."

The smaller boy shook his head and also added. "The worst is that it's not even a wild Pokemon..."

Before they could say anything else, a young woman with darker skin ran past them, without stopping, and shouted to them. "All right, boys! I managed to get it!"

They didn't have time to reply, as she had already disappeared into another room, but in the end, they ended up letting out a long sigh, which meant it was over. The professor tapped his foot in his office, having his arms crossed. He looked at the two pokeballs in his box, while the third was somehow in his laboratory. A boy younger than him, blond, didn't linger as he entered his office, just as breathless, but the professor made his first reaction known. "Have you managed to catch it?"

The boy shook his head in response. "Eh...no, Professor Platane. But Sina is trying to find a solution and I think-"

He was cut off when the darker skinned girl came in, pushing the boy aside, and quickly approached the professor by handing him the third pokeball. "It's alright, professor...It's here..."

He took a deep breath and took the bokeball from her hands and put it in the box. In this third pokeball, that had been slow to come, was a Pokemon he wouldn't have thought difficult. Yet he had received it yesterday and it was the only one that was now at his disposal. He hoped that when this Pokemon found itself in front of the next three trainers that would arrive it would be calmer.

Serena finished the cake she had just bought at one of the many bakeries that existed in Lumiose. Her two friends and herself finally found themselves in front of the laboratory, where they all had an appointment. At first impressed that the building actually looked like a huge manor in a baroque style, she wondered if Professor Platane had a particular taste for art and fashion. When Calem rang the door, two heads he knew well appeared when the door was opened. Yet, unlike them, they seemed to pull a really distraught face.

"Tierno? Trova?" Calem asked. "Are you okay?"

Tierno tried to look normal, trying to hide anything from their three friends, but Trova began to express agitation. "One of the starters is just terribly rowdy!"

The three newcomers bowed their heads because of what he said. Was there a problem? But, Trova was quickly held back by another person, a blond man, who appeared to reassure them.

"What're you talking about?" Sana asked.

"It's nothing, Sana." Dexio replied, trying not to look too upset. He picked himself up and noticed the other two. "Oh, Calem! You're here too! And..."

He turned his head to Serena, she being unknown to him.

"Serena!" she asserted herself.

"Ah, yes!" he remembered. "Your friends here have spoken about you from time to time."

"I didn't have a lot of free time, so I couldn't come here," she replied, lowering her head shamefully. "My mother often held me back."

"Well," Dexio said. "You're here for your Pokemon!"

After the rather meager conversation, Dexio let the three teenagers in, followed by the other two boys. Dexio explained that everything was going well and that even if Trova persisted about a problem, it was now resolved and everything was fine. He took them to the professor's office. The interior of the office was different from the main lobby, though the lobby looked old, dark and filled with bookshelves, its desk was much cleaner and brighter. The professor, and by his side Sina, smiled at the teenagers when they entered the office.

"Bonjour, children!" he began. "I think you already know me. I'm Professor Platane."

He turned his head to all the people around him. Then he spoke again.

"I already know our two usual boys, as well as you two, Calem and Sana." he stopped on Serena. "But you...This is our first meeting."

The girl smiled as she approached the professor, who was rather elegant as she had imagined, holding out her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Serena! "

The man took the hand and squeezed it. "Nice to meet you too. I'm sure you're excited about this moment."

Serena nodded shyly and stepped back to return to her place. Platane turned to his desk table and opened the box, which contained three bright pokeballs inside.

"I think you all know, in the four main areas of the archipelago concerning Pokemon, each trainer who's ten years old begins their journey. But here it's not the case," he stopped and took the open box to show the teenagers. "Ten years is a pretty young age for a Pokemon journey, but here we've no real rule regarding the age of departure. All three of you preferred to take your time before starting and to devote yourself to studying before finally leaving."

Serena looked down, remembering that her mother didn't really let her participate in these classes, but she could thank Calem and Sana for giving her a lot of lessons regarding the classes. "And now that you feel ready, it's time to show you your first partners."

Sana's eyes widened and Serena's heart beat at full speed. Calem was the only one to show no real emotion, only wearing a smile, but deep down inside, he hid his great excitement. The professor took the first pokeball and threw it in front of them. A little green and brown Pokemon appeared smiling, and it looked like it was wearing a cap on its head.

"Rimaaaa! " it cried out.

"I introduce you to Chespin." began the professor. "It's the grass type starter and its thorns can become so hard that it can break anything."

Calem nodded, satisfied to discover the little Pokemon, but said nothing for the moment, instead waiting for Platane to finish presenting the others. He then took another pokeball and unveiled a new Pokemon. This time it was a little fox with light yellow fur and orange-red ears. It wagged its tail as it saw the three humans watching it.

"Fennekin." the professor said. "It's the fire type starter. With the fur on its ears it can release a comforting warmth."

This time, Sana refrained from screaming, but everyone could see that her eyes were filled with glittering stars. Then Platane hesitated for a second to take the last Pokeball. "And the last one…"

He stared at it for a moment and finally tossed it to reveal the last Pokemon. This time, unlike the others, the Pokemon that appeared was folded on itself, its little body trembling with fear and the foam around its neck hummed with it. Now all eyes were on it and instead of wonder, all of them were astonished. Even the two Pokemon already presented looked at it in the same way. Tierno and Trova had a bad memory of it, while Sina and Dexio wondered if the Pokemon in question would act like it had done earlier. Serena didn't stand out, but looked more curiously at the Pokemon that didn't look like it was going to do anything. The Pokemon had its eyes closed and its front paws were drawn in on itself, as if it was afraid and it was trying to protect itself. The professor blinked several times, but tried to ignore their visual remarks and continued normally. "And here's Froakie!"

The Froakie in question raised its head when it heard a voice and also discovered its entourage by turning its head everywhere. There it saw the other two Pokemon, who seemed strangely ashamed to be with it.

"It's a water type Pokemon, so the starter water type! With the foam from its neck, it suffers less damage during an attack."

The concerned Pokemon turned to the professor visibly shocked by what it heard.

So he was a starter? Transformed into a Pokemon for beginners? Satoshi began to feel panic rise in him. His heart was beating fast and if his skin had been human, he could've felt sweat pouring on him.

The professor always kept a smile, although the reaction of the Froakie worried him, and announced what they had been waiting for. "So, now you can choose your Pokemon!"

Sana was the first to react and ran to the little yellow fox. She took it in her arms, caressed it and cheered. "I take it! I take it!"

It was impossible to stop her, she was too sure of her choice now. Calem smiled and instead of being as excited as Sannah was, walked calmly to the grass type Pokemon. He went down on one knee on the floor and patted the Pokemon's head. "I choose you."

A smile spread on Chespin's face. It ran up to the boy and shouted out in happiness, as if it was the happiest day of its life.

Satoshi had watched the two Pokemon as well as the two trainers who were getting to know them. It was the best day of a trainer's life, something he knew since he'd already had the experience. But here he couldn't feel the same emotion. He was too bewildered by the fact that he was a Pokemon and was presented as a starter. If he had been a wild Pokemon, things would have been a lot more different. In the end, he saw a girl in front of him who seemed to hesitate. She was there with the other two trainers, but this one seemed to want to choose him as a starter. Before she could take a step, Satoshi stepped back. From this simple gesture, all the others looked at the Pokemon, who was still so scared. Silence was very present in the room. Everyone was waiting for Serena's reaction, but she took her backpack and pulled out a cake box from it. She opened it and then presented what was inside to the water type Pokemon. The surprise was now present on everyone's face, as even the professor didn't expect it. Satoshi looked at the different cupcakes inside and felt different smells coming from them. The girl didn't move and simply smiled.

"You can choose whatever you want." she told him softly. She ended up squatting to be at the height of Froakie while holding the box. Satoshi hesitated again and finally stepped forward. He was now in front of the box and decided to pick one of the cakes available. Chespin seemed interested, but Calem, noting his excitement, told that it wasn't meant for it. Satoshi gently tasted the chosen cake and, to his surprise, it was delicious. His face lit up and continued to eat as quickly as he could.

"These are my pokepuffles, special cakes for Pokemon. I made special ones for water types, so it doesn't surprise me that you like it." she added. While he was almost at the last piece, Satoshi froze. He liked this cake because it was intended for Pokemon and this one specifically for water types. He had heard that he was a water type. A big shudder went through his body and it was then that he let go of the last piece after that realization. Serena lost her smile and gasped, with the little Froakie having gone hiding under a desk where no one in the room could catch him.

"Oh no, not again!" Sina complained when she saw the frog run away. Dexio slapped his forehead, and all the others were now confused, including Serena, by the reaction of her new starter. She tilted her head at the furniture where the little frog hid and tried to kneel to see if she could do anything. Platane approached her and squatted next to her with a shameful face.

"I'm sorry for that..." he told her. "This Froakie arrived yesterday morning and it seemed very shy. This morning I tried to put it in its pokeball, and it was a nightmare."

Serena didn't react, she just listened to the professor talking and waited to see if Froakie would change its mind.

"It's pretty special...I thought that when it would be in the arms of its new trainer, it would be happier..." he continued. "If you wish, Serena, you can always wait for the farm to send me a new one and you'll be able to leave for your journey."

At first she blinked a few times, but then looked at the professor to see if what he was saying was serious. Platane didn't look at her, but just waited for the hidden Pokemon to move. Only nothing happened at the moment and Serena looked down, having no answer to give.

* * *

Serena looked at her feet without really thinking. She was sitting on a chair outside the room they had been waiting in, while Dexio and Sina had managed to capture the blue Pokemon again. Sana, who was holding her new companion, took a seat next to her, putting the little fox in her lap. She looked up in the presence of her friend and the other girl gave her a compassionate smile.

"Sometimes it happens that a Pokemon refuses the trainer, you know?" she tried to say, with no intention of being annoying, but then resumed. "And sometimes it happens that this Pokemon who didn't want to belong to the trainer can become the best friend of another one."

Serena only sighed. She didn't understand why the Pokemon was refusing her, especially her poffles. She had taken her time to do it so that if the approach between her and her future Pokemon wouldn't work, she could always pull out her secret trick. But here it wasn't working. Yet when she discovered the Pokemon, she remembered how frightened it was, as if it had been taken from its natural state to be presented to her. Maybe he had left the farm too early and wasn't used to it yet? Calem approached the girls with a serious face with Chespin at his feet, who was more worried than its trainer. The boy looked at the honey haired girl and stood in front of her.

"Listen, Serena," he began. "If you want, you can stay here to get another starter."

She looked up at him as she heard what he said and then he went on. "I have to go to the Santalune Gym, to face the Gym Leader, Viola."

Sana puffed up her cheeks and put her hands on her hips. "You're really selfish, Calem!"

Calem looked at her, at first a little lost, but he explained himself. "I promised Viola that I would face her today after receiving my Pokemon..."

Serena exhaled a sigh and rested her chin on her hands. Calem felt even more nervous, so he got up and tried to reassure her. "I'm sorry, I absolutely wanted to go with you. I think for you, Serena, it's better that you have another Pokemon than this Froakie."

The two starters made a confused noise on hearing this from the boy. The little Fennekin in Sana's arms shifted its tail, tilting its head to the side. Serena thought and didn't stop thinking about this little Pokemon now. Calem may have been right. Maybe this Froakie wasn't meant for her. "So, Serena...I'm going to leave. After you've had your Pokemon, try to contact me and we'll meet again."

"Hey!" Sana added. Calem felt even worse about it but continued for her.

"Of course Sannah, we'll all be together. But, doesn't your Showcase start in a week?"

Sannah put on a confident expression. "Yep! And I intend to do my best!"

"That's the spirit, Sana!" Calem responded. Serena was in between. Of the three of their small band, she was the only one who didn't have a real goal. She didn't really dare talk to them about what she wanted, because in the end, she didn't know. Sana seemed very cheerful, wanting to become a celebrity, something which was very glittery. It was her dream. But Calem just wanted to be stronger and win the League. That was his purpose. And for every purpose, there was a reason why they wanted to make that dream come true. But Serena had been too locked up in a world where she was dictated by a mother who already had her future planned for her. She didn't see this future for her. She didn't believe in this future. She just wanted to enjoy this journey, to learn and getting to know other things. She came out of her thoughts when a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Serena, I have to go. But, we'll meet again. I promise." Calem finally answered. She nodded and the two girls watched him leave. The professor then left his office with an exhausted face. He approached the two girls and looked at the honey-blonde.

"Good Serena, we're almost done." she nodded in response to the professor's words.

"But, I think it's better that you wait for someone else to come to the lab. " Serena watched the professor take a breath and then continued. "This Pokemon is really young. I think it's newly hatched. I think I'll give it to someone when it's more used to it. "

This Froakie was afraid, she could feel it. However, she felt in him that there was something different, he had liked her poffle when he was eating it. There was certainly something that scared him, but what? He wasn't comfortable in this place, that was for sure. His look said as much, he didn't like being locked up. He felt so alone. Could she give him whatever he missed? Comfort? Love? Warmth from a person who loves him? Something that could bridge his loneliness. It was the least she could try to do. They heard several noises in the room, and then the door ended up slowly opening with the two assistants of the tired professor who had just managed to accomplish their task appearing. Sina's hand was held out towards the professor with the pokeball in it.

"Here's the pokeball, professor..." Sina was just as breathless. Serena looked at the pokeball. She could see her reflection on it, noticing that her face was looking rather hesitant. She blinked at first and then felt something coming from the red and white ball. A kind of energy that wanted her. Serena took a long breath at first, then approached the ball and didn't hesitate to take it, under the shocked gaze of the two assistants and Sana, then turning to Platane.

"I'm going to take this Froakie, professor," she said seriously. "I'll do my best to make it a great Pokemon!"

Platane looked at her with his mouth open and finally continued to smile. They then went back to his office and the professor turned to a drawer, where he picked up several things inside and gave them to Serena. "Here're your pokeballs and your pokedex. It'll serve you every time you search for information on different Pokemon. The entry of Froakie's already in it."

She took them with pleasure and put them in her bag. After finishing with the professor, the new trainer eventually descended into the main living room accompanied by Sana, who asked her something then. "Will you join Calem?"

Serena thought about it. She just wanted to spend time with her new Pokemon. She looked at the pokeball in her hand, so small and inactive. Could Froakie breathe from the inside? She eventually kneeled down and activated the pokeball. Sana pulled back from what she wanted to do, being quite shocked and thinking that her friend was crazy. Serena's hand went in one direction and the ball opened, and a light appeared, which landed on the ground to form a frog that she was slowly getting to know.

Satoshi finally shakes his head in every direction, as he now understands why Pikachu didn't like being in a pokeball. After all, he was human, and he had never gotten used to life inside a pokeball. First he looked at himself, seeing that he was still in the form of this Pokemon he had never seen before. But looking up, he saw the face of the girl he had seen earlier, who gave him a cake. Her worried, but confident, look suddenly caught him off guard. Her eyes were strangely familiar, but not so much. When he tried to remember why he had the impression of knowing these eyes, the faces of Haruka or Hikari appeared in his head...She had just a simple physical resemblance to them, nothing more.

The frog boy looked around, being free again. He tried to throw himself out of her reach and tried to go as far as he could, however as soon as he'd considered moving, he was held by a pair of arms that stared at him and leaned against something. He turned his head, seeing that it was the same girl who held him against her. But as soon as he was touched by the girl, his heart beat faster. Excitement? Fear? His head moved quickly, having a strange flash in his head, as if his thoughts zapped through different TV channels, but he had no image, only the black and white dots that meant that it didn't show anything. It was as if he was watching an old TV that would never work again. That's what he felt in that moment.

Serena gently squeezed him against herself, not wanting him to leave. However, Satoshi, after losing himself mentally, recovered and tried to push back the arm around him in order to be released. The young trainer at first only made a small noise, but the Pokemon didn't give up. Sana was still behind her friend, watching them with various concerns.

"Um, Serena, are you sure about..."

She didn't continue her sentence when she saw that the Pokemon had started to make noises as well. The blonde haired trainer didn't give up and gritted her teeth. She tried to speak to try to calm the Pokemon. "Everything's alright! Nothing will happen to you!"

Satoshi heard the words, but nothing really seemed to stop him. He kept moving in all directions so he could leave.

"Please..." Serena said while panting. "Give me a chance!"

Still no positive reaction came from the Pokemon. Sannah behind her was ready to leave and warn the Professor and his assistants, but then in a last attempt, Serena screamed. "I'll not give up until the end, Froakie!"

And then, listening to her words, Satoshi stopped. He raised his head to look at the blue-eyed girl and showed that she was pretending to be serious. A sensation sprang up in his spine, recognizing the words spoken. It was often him who used them, especially during a trial that was impossible to solve. And it was so strange that a person like her announced to him such a determination, showing a surprising amount of tenacity.

Serena let her grip become more gentle and he did nothing. He only looked at her, as if he was trying to understand what was hiding in her. The answer was nothing. Froakie looked down and lost himself looking at his two little front legs. Serena tried to make her smile much softer, while looking at the Pokemon, who seemed to be lost.

"Froakie," she began with a soft voice. "I want you to be my partner for my journey."

He raised his head to look at her and she stroked his head. "Let's travel together."

Satoshi didn't say anything himself. This girl seemed nice. Maybe if he had been human, they would've been good friends. But here she only saw him as a starter, even if that's what he was, and she only wanted him as her companion. He was her first Pokemon. Today for her was the same as the day when he had received Pikachu. His eyes widened at the thought. Pikachu! Where was he? Since yesterday, when had arrived here, he hadn't found him anywhere. Was he here? Had he become a starter for another trainer? No, that wasn't possible, because Pikachu already belonged to him. What did Estelle do to him...?

Estelle...That name was beginning to annoy him...It's because of her that he was here. She turned him into this Pokemon. Cursed to do her a favor.

Seeing that he didn't give any kind of reaction to her and that he seemed to be disturbed by something else, Serena sighed and held him in her arms, keeping him against her chest and got up. It was strange for him, because now he was in the arms of a girl who was carrying him and his feet didn't touch the ground. It was rather nice for him. Serena turned around smiling at Sana, who was getting closer and happy for her friend.

"You managed to calm it down!" she exclaimed.

"I think it was just scared..." she replied. "But there's still some work to be done."

Serena offered a new smile to the Froakie, but he showed no response. A new idea then appeared in his little head. He could always wait for the right moment to escape. When they're out and she had a moment of inattention, he could always find a way to return home and find his old Pokemon, who could always help him to return to his human form and find Pikachu. However, he had no idea where he was.

"I think today I'm going to stay with Trova and Tierno for a while." announced Serena's good friend. "I'm going to ask Tierno for advice to find out what my little Fennekin could be taught!"

The honey-colored blonde nodded while tightening her new ally against her. The latter winced, but he had to be patient. He would feel sorry for her, but at the right time they'd never see each other again.

* * *

Serena was ready now. After a rather hurried farewell, she left the mansion while having her new supposed friend with her. She still held him firmly in her arms, and that didn't bother the human in the body of a Pokemon.

But when they found themselves on the street, a feeling of unease seized the frog boy. The surroundings, the houses, the style, the city where he was, was totally unknown to him. He didn't recognize any shops or buildings. He had visited various cities in several regions, but he knew at least how the cities of his native region were. But now he didn't doubt that he was no longer in Kanto. How was he going to get home?

Serena ran while holding her Pokemon, who panicked mentally, and unlike him, she expressed only joy. She arrived at the main square, where a very large tower could be seen. Satoshi was impressed, as the building seemed to dominate the entire city. Serena didn't look down at him and spoke to her Pokemon. "Did you know there's a very strong Gym Leader in the tower?"

Suddenly, panic and fear subsided and were replaced by curiosity. The blue frog looked at the young trainer and then back at the tower. He notices the logotype of Gyms on one of the main entrances. So here too, there were Gym Leaders, meaning there was a League. Everything seemed normal after all. But, he had never seen this city and this Gym. He came to the conclusion that he was in a region he hadn't been to yet.

Serena turned away and walked quietly down the alleyways, looking for directions, but also looking at the windows of some dress shops. It made Satoshi sigh. After all, she was a girl. An hour later, she finally found the way to get out of the city. The road was the same, so she could either go home...or she could find Calem as they had promised. The idea of finding her best friend made her groan. She wondered if he would call her mother every time they were together to tell her that she was fine. Well, she was sure they could make a deal. She had gotten what she wanted, having gotten away from home and her mother. She didn't hate her mother, quite the contrary, but she just wanted her to let things go. But now that she had done the first part of her journey, receiving her first Pokemon, she didn't really know what to do. She could stay in Lumiose City, but she would be bored. Calem had a goal, Sana had a goal, but she didn't have one.

Satoshi glanced up at her as she hesitated, wondering when she was going to let go of him. If he tried to escape her arms, he was sure she wouldn't let go. The new trainer didn't hurry, only looking at the vegetation that was now abundant. And then she stopped at last, two signs that indicated two different paths.

She was able to go back home, or she could go see her best friend. She rubbed her foot on the ground, and then exhaled loudly. However, she didn't notice that she had loosened her arms and Satoshi, who felt it, took advantage of it. He jumped from her arms very quickly with a victorious smile. Serena noticed her Pokemon on the ground, looking at him as if time had stopped, and she let out a little cry when the information reached her head. Her panic set in, afraid that he'd escape. Satoshi looked at her with a mischievous smile, running away when she reached for him. In her hurry she hadn't paid any attention to the fact that he had taken off in the direction of the city where Calem was.

"Wait!" Serena ran after him, but he managed to get up on a nearby tree. Serena arrived at the foot of the tree and looked at her Froakie, who gave her a terrible but victorious look. This didn't amuse the girl and made her puff out her cheeks. "You had planned this from the beginning!"

"Kero! Keroma!" he laughed.

"I thought you gave me a chance!" Serena proclaimed. Satoshi didn't say anything, having nothing against her. Above anything, it was was that he wanted to become human again, so he couldn't play the Pokemon for a beginner trainer if he wanted to accomplish that. He looked at her while waiting for her to go away, but she didn't move and kept looking at him angrily while tapping her foot.

"You know, you'll stay up there for a while." she announced with a bored tone.

The frog boy did nothing but shrug his shoulders. He then watched as the girl sit down against the tree on which he was, not trying to make eye contact with him anymore.

"I don't care, I have plenty of time to wait for you." she said with her eyes closed. "I wonder what you're going to do to eat. Fortunately, I got my meal for this afternoon."

As she said that, she pulled a box out of her bag with a plastic lid. Satoshi watched her do so and felt annoyed. It didn't bother him! Until he heard his stomach gurgling, that was. He was hungry, and since yesterday, he hadn't eaten anything. Only a few small berries he had found in the garden from where he was, but he didn't want to eat Pokemon food.

Opening her box, Serena started digging in with her fork, eating quietly while waiting. Satoshi was hungry too and he wanted so badly to be human now to be able to eat anything. At the same time, Serena put down her fork and pulled out another box, looking at him sadly, before speaking softly to him.

"There're still your pokepoffles if you're hungry." she turned her head fully towards him and looked harder at the Pokemon on the tree. "But you don't like them, right?"

He wanted one, but no, it was wrong. What she gave him to eat was good, but it was food for Pokemon...But it was good. What a dilemma...

She put the box of pokepoffles beside her and continued to eat from her other box, always watched by the former human.

When she had finished, she put her box next to her and rested her head against the tree. She stopped thinking about anything and then yawned. She closed her eyes slowly and began to breathe peacefully. Noticing her, the frog debated with himself, but he gave up, so he climbed down slowly. He moved closer to the box of pokepoffles, trying to get at least one, but when he touched the cake, Serena acted. He jumped in surprise as she had his Pokeball in one hand. Now scared, he started screaming with Serena holding the pokeball dangerously close to him. He went to hide behind the tree under the gaze of the astonished trainer. Noticing his behavior, she lowered the pokeball while blinking, she saw again what she had seen in his eyes this morning. Fear. She looked at the pokeball and then looked at him again and asked him in a neutral tone. "You don't like pokeballs?"

"Ro..." he whispered, shaking his head. Surprisingly, he shared a common trait with Pikachu. The trainer lowered the spherical object and tried to reach out for the Pokemon trying to avoid it.

"Listen, if you don't like it, I can put it away and not use it..." she began to say. "But please, stay with me."

She handed him the poffle he had tried to take, as she wanted to make him understand that she wasn't a bad person. Maybe she was a beginner, but she knew she had to try her best. That was something Satoshi saw. He sighed for a moment, but he looked at the poffle, taking it and starting to chew on it. This made him smile, as although Takeshi or Dento were very good cooks, in terms of pastry she seemed to be better than them. Serena touched him again, but this time, Satoshi decided to let it go, since it wasn't a bad feeling, instead feeling nice.

"I think we started off on the wrong foot, you and me." Serena acknowledged. "Thinking about it, we didn't really get to introduce ourselves."

Satoshi stopped eating. It was true, he knew nothing about her. She switched up the position she was sitting in and faced him.

"I'm Serena. " she said.

"Ke...ro..." the frog boy tried to respond.

"Se-re-na." she said again, emphasizing the syllables.

Satoshi couldn't pronounce her name, or even his own, as his voice couldn't make anything but simple sounds. He would've liked to know how Meowth had managed to learn to speak.

"So, I just started my journey and I chose you as my partner." she continued.

It seemed simple and he understood it, but did she want to become a Pokemon Master like him? Travel to fight Gym Leaders? If that was the case, it made her his rival. Well, she could become one, if he managed to return to his human form and come to this region. He waited for something else, hoping that she would say something more about it, since he would like to at least know why she was traveling. But, she sat down properly and with her hands still close to him, she tried to lift and touch him everywhere. Satoshi blinked. It was on one hand very annoying, because it touched sensitive spot, but on the other hand it was quite ticklish. When she stopped, she looked at him everywhere, something that made the boy uneasy.

"I wonder what gender you are." she suddenly spoke.

He nearly fell over at her words. That's why she had touched him all over? That wasn't correct at all! If it was to make him take a bath, he could maybe see it. Though why would he need her to take a bath? Satoshi shook his head in all directions. Did the Pokemon he had turned into show no difference between genders? With Pikachu, it was simple, as you only needed to see his tail. He ended up continuing to watch, rather disgruntled, shocked that they could spend two minutes on something so useless. Or not really useless. Not that it mattered.

Serena got up and started walking, the Pokemon following her. He had to keep staying with her because of those delicious cakes she had. Satoshi desperately wanted to leave, but for the moment, he had to stay, until he knew where he was. He had to follow her for now.

The honey blonde girl was in front of him, leading the march. About every ten minutes, she turned her head to see if he was still there, but there was no doubt about it. He followed her, so far. Satoshi looked around trying to see if there were Pokemon he knew. He could see some Pidgey in the trees, but also Pokemon which must be flying types too, being orange with a thin beak. He was now afraid that this day of departure could end up like his own while watching the birds, but they seemed harmless. He tried to see better in the area, but apart from the flying Pokemon, there were no other Pokemon he could see. They had been walking for a long time now, and they had talked very little. Well, Serena had talked a little. She'd told him that they would find a Pokemon Center to spend the night at, as she hardly wanted to sleep outside. Satoshi whispered to himself how when you travel, you should be ready for anything, even sleeping outside.

It was slowly starting to become night, the sun slowly disappearing in the horizon and the moon casting its light over everything. A strange impulse was felt in his chest, and it made Satoshi stop. His skin was drying up and he felt so raspy. He needed water. Strangely, yesterday he didn't feel that way when he was in the lab. The frog boy then ran to the right, leaving his trainer to walk alone. The young girl stopped when she heard a bush rustle, turning around, just to be surprised to see that the Pokemon who'd accompanied her all afternoon had disappeared. Her heart began to beat quicker as a knot in her stomach formed. She whispered the name of her Pokemon first and then left in one direction.

Satoshi ran as best he could, looking for a river or even a waterhole, and being in dire need of it. He knew he was a water type Pokemon, so maybe his body needed water to feel refreshed. In the end he found a little pond, the dark blue sky now dominating the sky and the moon lit everything up. Satoshi first looked at himself in the water, and he saw his reflection again. It looked rather funny, in a way, especially his eyes coming out of his head, but it was as if he had known that feeling forever. He inhaled and then jumped into the water and swam around, his head under the water. Fun fact, he could breathe underwater! It was a very good experience for him, but before he could enjoy it, he felt a strange tingling inside of himself, though it wasn't unpleasant, it was just surprising. Yet he felt almost different from what how he'd felt before. But as soon as the tingling ceased, the ability he had just found was disappearing. His mouth filled with water and his chest burned, he couldn't stay any longer. He immediately took his head out of the water, stunned that he couldn't breathe underwater anymore. Had the Pokemon he had become stopped working? The boy caught the edge of the pond and took quick breaths so he could gather himself. He put his hand on his chest, feeling that his skin had a different texture. A familiar texture. He dropped his head and looked at his hand. It was human.

Satoshi coughed in surprise, but he couldn't contain his joy. He looked all over his body and touched his wet hair. He was human! He was no longer blue, neither did he have his mane of bubbles. He had his old body back...but he was naked. It was a detail that could easily be noticed. How was he going to find clothes? He could be mistaken for a madman. He went out of the water and looked for a solution. If he went to a Pokemon Center maybe the Nurse Joy there could help him. He couldn't spend the night naked in the woods, so he had to find something.

As he searched for other things he could do, a cry stopped him from thinking. The voice belonged to  _her_. He felt the voice coming closer, though he tried to do nothing but hide behind a tree. Serena came near the pond and kept shouting the name of her Pokemon, not suspecting that this same Pokemon had hidden behind a tree and was watching her, and that he was in his human form.

"Froakie!" she shouted again.

From where he was, Satoshi saw the girl who was supposed to be his trainer. He could see through the tears that were slowly beginning to form in her eyes. She had lost her Pokemon. He could understand her. Satoshi could feel it. Now in his human form, he felt similar to her. But before he could think too much more, Serena left again and he had no time to tell her anything. He couldn't show himself to her, not like that it mattered currently. He had to forget it for the moment, but he felt sorry for her, definitely not liking that a trainer had their Pokemon disappearing. He came out of his hiding place and felt the wind caressing his naked body. He was getting cold.

Satoshi walked in the woods and it was starting to get very dark, making him afraid that someone could find him like that, or worse, a wild Pokemon attacked him. Yet everything turned out alright for him when he found a very familiar building, with a very large field in the back. He rushed to the door, but he remembered that he had no clothes on him and that if he entered anywhere, he could be chased out. The naked boy then went over to the side, looking for a window. He found one high enough, one that left only his head visible. It was perfect. The lights were still on and as he looked around he saw no one except the nurse, who was probably a Joy. But, apart from her, he saw no one else. He knocked several times on the window, waiting until the nurse opened the window. She looked at the boy and he couldn't help but blush and smile awkwardly, his body stuck against the wall so she wouldn't see him completely.

"G-Good evening." he stammered. He knew for sure that this was the kind of thing that never had happened to him in his life.

The nurse blinked several times, confused enough that a young boy was talking to her at the window.

"I have a problem..." he continued. "I was doing...I was taking a bath in a pond and then almost all my possession, including my clothes, were gone."

The young woman with pink hair uttered a little cry of surprise and quickly closed the window. Satoshi froze at her reaction. He should probably try to give an explanation, or he might not get any help. He hesitated, not sure if to leave or to wait, just in case. The window opened again and he got a thick cloth thrown over his head. He pulled it off to see the young woman who had come back. "Here, take this and put it on! Then you can enter!"

He didn't have time to answer as she had already closed the window. He looked at what she had given him and it seemed to be just a thick gray sports outfit, consisting of a pair of pants and a jacket. He hurried to put everything on and finally, he walked to the entrance and entered. The nurse was at her post as she should, while behind her was a Pokemon he knew: a Wigglytuff. He quickly approached her and tried to everything to her.

"I'm sorry," he started. "I lost all my belongings, and now I have nothing on me!"

Nurse Joy made a reassuring gesture. "It'll be fine. I can always report the incident police."

"Thank you." he responded, even though he knew it was pointless call to make, since he really never had any belongings since had been brought here.

She tapped on a screen and then looked at the boy. "Do you have a pokedex?"

"No, I don't have anything on me..." he recalled.

"Yes, I know, but do you know your trainer number?" Satoshi grimaced at the question. He had never learned his trainer number, with it not really being the most important thing to him. He never thought that one day he would end up without a pokedex. "Unfortunately, without your pokedex, I can't give you a room, but you can still sleep on the sofa."

The boy nodded and thanked her. He looked at the walls and spotted a map. It depicted the region he was in. A region with a pentagonal shape, on one side with the sea and on the other side mountains. A city was almost in the middle, and it seemed to be the most important city, almost the heart of the region. Then he saw the name: Kalos. His eyes widened slowly, a strange flash reminded him of Estelle. She came from this region. Everything was almost related to this girl. She turned him into this Pokemon, then sent him to her region! His fists tightened as he bit his lower lip. Damn, how did he get there? Just because he lost a match and promised he would help. But now that he was human again, did that mean it was over? That he had succeeded and broken the curse? That he could now return to his normal life? He noticed the telephones and thought that the best thing to do would be to he call his mother. He hoped that Pikachu was with her and that nothing had happened to the two of them. He picked up the handset and tapped in the number of his home. But he didn't hear a signal on the other side, but instead, there was a weird sound on the line and the screen was still black. That didn't work. He know he lived in a village far from almost any bigger city, but still, the phone should be working. He hung up. Maybe his mother wasn't home, but with Professor Oak. He began by typing the professor's number, but he stopped himself when he saw the girl he had met entering.

Serena's eyes were completely red and her mouth was gasping as if she had participated in a marathon. Instinctively, Satoshi turned around so she couldn't see him, which was stupid because she had never seen him in his human form. She slowly moved closer to Nurse Joy and spoke weakly. "My Pokemon...my Froakie is gone...I can't find it..."

Joy put a hand to her mouth, obviously rather saddened for her, but she still asked for her pokedex, giving her a key for a room after checking it. She asked her to rest while she could call the police for an investigation. Serena sat down on the sofa, totally drained of her strength and having searched everywhere for her Pokemon. Satoshi was still hiding so that she wouldn't see him, but it didn't matter, as she wasn't paying attention anyway, as she was too destroyed to notice anything. Curious, he turned his head to watch her. The boy's heart tightened when he realized that Serena was crying. She had lost her Pokemon, but this Pokemon, it was him. He had almost rejected the entire idea, he had just used it for a second, he didn't care about her. But she loved him all the same, in the same way that he had loved Pikachu on the first day while he had hated him. He was Pikachu and she was him during his first day as a trainer. And she had done everything to love him back, she wanted him to be her partner and form an unique bond with him. He had to tell her the truth. It's true he was a human, but he was also her Pokemon and he had to tell her about what happened and why it happened.

Then he suddenly felt selfish. Wanting to tell her the truth was one thing. Wanting her to absolutely help him was another, especially under these circumstances. His heart tightened. He didn't want that. He didn't want her to cry because she had lost her Pokemon and he didn't want to be selfish. But he had to try, at least to tell her the truth. But would she believe it? Would that break her even more? He got closer to the girl, trying to stretch out his arm, but she got up and he stopped. She turned and, without looking at him, she went to the rooms. Satoshi didn't follow her. She needed to be alone. He would try to tell her tomorrow. It was the best for him, but especially for her.

* * *

The sunlight was hidden behind the curtains, allowing Satoshi to sleep well. He opened his eyes slowly and got up from the couch, noting that he was still human. He turned his head to the counter and the nurse greeted him with a smile.

"Hello!" she said. "The police will arrive today to help. And you can eat breakfast outside!"

With half-closed eyes, he nodded. He rubbed his eyes and tried to think about the day before. There was...Serena. Oh right, he had to talk to her. Was she awake? Maybe he had to wait for her to come to breakfast. He knew she was waiting for the police to know if they had found him, something that was impossible now. He went out of the Pokemon Center, covered by the shadows. Outside, he noticed her sitting on a chair staring blankly at her cup of tea. He hid in a corner, but like yesterday, she didn't notice him. His heart started to beat faster. What should he say first? That he was sorry? Sorry for what? In any case, he had to apologize. But, he had to explain things to her. Or should he comfort her? It was the right thing to do. The boy nodded to himself decisively and with a determined step he went into the light, leaving the shadows. However, he felt himself shrink. The same tingling as yesterday came back to him and lasted only ten seconds. It felt almost too bright as he closed his eyes and even before he could react and make any sound, he felt like he was hidden under sheets. He opened his eyes and saw that he was hidden by the fabric of the clothes he had been wearing. He came and looked at his body again. He had become a Pokemon. The Froakie he had been yesterday. He panicked, now being a Pokemon again. The curse was not broken. Why did he manage to be human last night and now he wasn't?

He looked around and saw that no one had seen him, not even Serena. After all, he was hidden, but he didn't know if he should go yet. Should he really go back to her? As he had noticed yesterday, Serena wasn't doing well without him. And if he refused to be with her, he would be as bad as Pikachu when they had met for the first time. He could see it. Her eyes were so dull, having lost the living blue they had yesterday. And she had lost her smile. For some reason he didn't know, her smile was something that warmed his little heart, even if he didn't want to admit it. As it stood, it wouldn't appear anymore. The frog boy gritted his teeth and then the sting in his heart made him realize that maybe Pikachu had felt the same way in the end, but now everything was clear. She needed him.

Perhaps for a moment, until he finds the solution, and he found the method he had taken to become human again and explain, he had to stay with her. He exhaled and then swallowed his ego. He approached the girl slowly. The sad girl hadn't noticed him yet, so Satoshi did the only thing he could do in that little body.

"Kero!"

Serena looked up and moved slowly to look at him. Time had frozen for her again. She remained stunned and slowly, a smile appeared and her tears flowed again, but this time they were tears of happiness. She jumped to him, falling to her knees and grabbed him, pulling him tightly against her. Satoshi was smothered at first, but he felt good. That's what he did to his Pokemon after all, and that's what they should feel. He closed his eyes, and accepted this human warmth, which he rarely knew.

"Miss, Officer Junsar has arrived." the nurse called, but stopped when she saw the girl with a Pokemon against her.

She looked at the officer, shrugged and then shared the joy for the girl. But, the officer looked at the nurse and asked quietly. "Wasn't there a boy too?"

"Yes," she responded. "but, he should be here."

Satoshi opened his eyes when he heard the conversation. It was true that there was his human version that had problems, but what could he do now? Better to just make them think he was gone while he was in that girl's arms. He had to trust this girl now, as in a way, she had started to tame him.


	3. Brave Petit Pokemon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena and Satoshi are continuing their trip, except they've noticed something... Satoshi cannot really use his moves ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, i'm back, but I don't know when I will be back next time, so see ya.
> 
> Like always, i use mostly the Japanese Names for the characters by habit, only the town and the Pokemon keep their English names (except the cries); Satoshi = Ash, Musashi = Jessie, Kojiro = James, Nyasu = Meowth.

 

When Serena was reunited with her Froakie she couldn't give any explanation to Agent Junsar. The policewoman didn't blame her and she was even happy to see them together, though she still wondered where the boy who'd also called for her help had gone. The nurse had searched everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found. They didn't wait any longer and the agent left. The new trainer, before leaving in turn, left her Pokémon with Nurse Joy to see if it was still in good shape and if it had gotten any injuries while it was gone last night. Fortunately for her, there were no injuries to be found. She also learned that her Froakie was a male, something that might be useful to know.

Satoshi, for the first time, became aware of what it was like to be examined by a nurse for Pokémon. It wasn't so different than when he went to see a doctor for humans, but since he was much smaller, the hands touching him felt very different. He felt like a toy in the hands of a human child.

After her final preparations, Serena took her little blue frog in her arms and finally left the Pokémon Center to head to the city where Calem might be. Satoshi, now in her arms with his back against her chest, identified an fragrance on her neck. She smelled of Jasmine, a flower that could be found in special places in Kanto. It reminded him of his mother, as when it was teatime during the first nine years of his life, they always had a tea that had the taste of a flower she'd added.

On her way, the girl was quickly stopped by a small Pokémon with big ears which had left the bushes to cross her path. She took out her Pokédex to identify it, the robotic voice of the electronic device explaining that it was a Bunnelby, as well as giving her a summary of its abilities. Satoshi, who was still in the girl's arms, listened intently, looking at the Pokémon in front of them. When the Pokédex finished its summary, Serena lowered the hand holding the Pokédex and tightened her hold on her Pokémon with her other arm and looked at the little Pokémon with a big smile.

"He's cute!" she exclaimed and immediately tried to get closer to the rabbit Pokémon, but as soon as she took a step, the Pokémon disappeared into the opposite bush. The young honey blond sighed at her failed attempt.

Satoshi also sighed, but not for the same reason. He looked up to see bird Pokémon sitting on tree branches, the same as he saw yesterday. He called out to his  _trainer_ , pointing at the orange-red birds, trying to tell her to use the Pokédex. Serena reacted when she saw him point with his little paw. She smiled when she saw the interest he had and also noticed the same Pokémon.

"Fletchling!" the girl cried out.

She pointed her machine toward them to hear what the machine had to say. Satoshi was attentive as well, knowing these Pokémon could be the perfect flying-type Pokémon for him. Lowering his head, he could see another Pokémon he'd never seen behind some bushes. He signalled Serena to leave him on the ground, something she didn't really trust him with, but was she quite surprised to to see that her Pokémon wanted her to follow him. When he guided her to a bush, they both saw a small gray Pokémon with white fur over its body. She scanned it and learned that it was a Spewpa and that they were totally harmless. They took another direction, as the frog bow showed her a variety of Pokémon that passed in front of them, so that Serena could scan them and most importantly, so that he could get a better understanding of what he was surrounded by.

After a while, he tried to go elsewhere by passing through a new bush. But going through it, he spotted a Pokémon he already knew. Satoshi froze for a few seconds, but remained hidden, as the sight of these Pokémon in the wild with their natural smiles made his heart break a bit. There were Pikachu alongside Pichu. Satoshi took a deep breath, remembering that his best friend was missing. He wondered if it was the first time that they'd been separated for so long. They've been separated a lot, but not for so long each time and they always found each other at the end. But now that he was here with this girl, how long would it take for him to see his beloved Pikachu again?  
Serena found herself behind him and noticed the yellow Pokémon. She crouched behind her friend and she cried out softly. "Oh, Pikachu!"

She pointed her Pokédex towards them without being noticed "It seems that there's a movie studio for Pikachu, isn't it cute?"

Satoshi didn't really listen to her, turning away to walk elsewhere while having his head lowered under the gaze of his trainer, who was quite disturbed by his reaction. She stood up and caught up to him and before he could do anything else, she grabbed him with her hands and hugged him. "Is there a problem? You look sad."

The frog boy couldn't really answer, for different reasons. He tried to breathe out in spite of himself and looked at the girl who was holding him against herself, her blue eyes continuing to pierce his soul, eventually feeling a strange sensation in his head. The same as he had felt yesterday, a sensation that felt like his head imagined zapping through random channels.

Like a feeling of déjà vu.

The blue frog shook his head against her. Which did nothing, but kept looking at the ground. The young honey blond blinked as she noticed the reaction of her Pokémon. She thought he looked good at the moment, though something had suddenly changed, but what? Had he thought back to yesterday? No, he seemed determined to stay with her though. Unconsciously, she tightened her Pokémon against herself, while the blue frog gasped as he was squeezed against her. He turned his head to her again, still feeling a mysterious aura floating around them.

"Is there a problem, Froakie?" Serena asked in a very soft tone.

He looked down, shaking his head, with Serena starting to walk slowly, following the path that told her where to go. The sunlight illuminated them somewhat, hidden by the leaves of the trees. In Serena's arms, Satoshi could feel how the heat of the sun was strangely moisturizing to him. The body he had received was a water-type Pokémon. Did his body react to heat and fire? Was that supposed to protect him? He tried to take a few minutes to examine himself. Still, he hadn't yet given himself the time to fully look at his new body. His hands were white with three big right limbs, which was a strange feeling when he was used to having five. He examined the foam around his neck, which was rather thick, it could peel off his neck and he could almost make shapes with it. Where did the foam come from? Even if he removed it entirely, it still seemed to come back. He also noted that his eyes were outside his head. It was so strange to him, having his eyes be above his head and not on his face.

The young honey blonde didn't notice the actions of her Pokémon and tried to look around for any other Pokëmon she could analyze with her Pokédex. Then she saw a bush close to her rustling. She turned around and took a step back, not sure if it was going to be dangerous or not. Satoshi in her arms blinked several times expecting it to be a Pokémon unknown to him. Contrary to what they'd hoped for, three Ariados came out of the bush, looking furious. Serena's body shuddered at the sight of them and took a step back as Satoshi frowned, quite disappointed to see a Pokémon he already knew. The three spiders advanced slowly like predators, ready to jump on their prey. The girl bit her bottom lip, looking at the little blue frog in her arms and stuttered. "D-Do you know any moves?"

It wasn't a question he was certain he could answer. Did he know any moves? He'd no idea if he was honest. He hadn't figured his abilities out yet. His little heart was beating fast and he was suddenly afraid of that. He didn't know what he could do, and a Pokémon who doesn't know how to attack is useless. Since when did he start thinking like that though? No Pokémon was useless!

He tapped his head instantly, trying to force himself to forget his current thought. Serena, however, seeing that her little Pokémon didn't really respond to her and seemed just as bad, she realized that things would be more difficult than she'd expected. She tried to retreat as slowly as possible so she didn't upset the Ariados, since she just wanted to disappear without too much trouble. Unfortunately, the Ariados were about to throw something, and an alarm sounded in the blonde's head at their action. She turned and ran in the direction she had planned to take.

Satoshi, still in her arms, was now shaking in every sense because she was running. It wasn't particularly nice, but it was better than when he was running on his own at least. Serena let out a small scream as she kept running. At the same time in Satoshi's head it was like another part of him which told him what to do. But how was that possible? He wasn't a Froakie originally. It was almost a responsibility. He was responsible for her because he was a Pokémon. Or had he always been like that? It was the same thing when he was protecting his Pokémon. His eyes wrinkled and then, as he was about to move to help her, Serena was already heading for a slope that was far too steep for her that she slipped and fell into the bushes below.

The Ariados, reaching the slope, searched for her. Finding nothing, they decided to move on, disappearing somewhere. The two rookies, at the same time, came out of the bushes with wide open mouths, as if they were trying to find their breath. They looked at each other and a nervous laugh escaped Serena, much to the frog boy's confusion. In the girl's head, this helped her to better get rid of the stress she may have had. At the end, she was happy that it ended rather well for them. She was still quite baffled as to why didn't her Pokémon use any attack. She took the blue Pokémon with her again and then rested against a tree, looking at her Pokédex. She searched for information with one hand, quickly finding what she wanted to know. Taking a few minutes to read, Satoshi looked at her for a moment with a quizzical look.

"Water...Pulse?" she repeated after what she must've read. Satoshi knew it was a water-type attack, since he had already seen this attack before. Shortly after, the girl put away her Pokédex and put her Pokémon on the ground. She took a few steps back, staring at her partner with determination, and pointed somewhere. "Water Pulse!"

Satoshi blinked, trying to figure out what was going on with her.

"Water Pulse!" she shouted again. On the second occasion, he understood. She was trying to give him an order, as she wanted him to use a move. This made him then frown, quite doubtful. Yet he understood her approach, but it wouldn't work like that. Mostly because he didn't know how to use any of his techniques or moves, having only been a Pokémon for a few days. And what would it do for him anyway? He had to find a way as soon as possible to become completely human again.

Noticing his reaction, Serena crouched to be closer to him. She looked back at her Pokédex and began an explanation. "According to the Pokédex, it says that you know this move."

She showed him the screen of her device and she continued. "It's weird. Maybe you don't know how to use it..."

She bit her bottom lip. It was probably true and the professor was right. This Pokémon was indeed too young to be a starter. She put her Pokédex away while she exhaled, then slowly took his two little hands, trying to see how they could do it. Serena was unfortunately not an expert, but she had to see if there was any way to get him going. Satoshi thought if he'd been turned into a Pikachu maybe things would've been simpler. Unfortunately for him, he was a Pokémon he didn't know. The girl then took the blue Pokémon in her arms and finally continued her journey, hoping that the city wouldn't be too far, so they could see one of the nurses of a center to figure out if they could solve the problem.

As they continued their walk, Satoshi heard a small moan. He stirred in the arms of the girl and then got out of her arms. Once on the ground, he continued to hear these noises and tried to get his trainer to follow him. Blinking several times in confusion, the girl eventually understood what her Pokémon wanted. The frog boy pressed on and Serena was surprised by his speed. After a few minutes, the Pokémon and the girl reached a corner where there was a Pokémon on the ground, looking like it had been punched and so weak that its little moans were the only thing it was capable of doing at the moment. The two of them shouted as they saw the little body and Serena rushed over to the Pokémon, followed by the frog. It was a Fennekin, like Sana's, except that it was in much worse shape. The girl dropped to her knees and gently took the little Pokémon in her arms.

"I can't believe that anyone would do something like this! Who would beat up a Pokémon like this?" Serena asked herself, very much upset at the poor condition of the Fennekin.

Satoshi came closer and examined the little fox in the arms of his trainer. It would be necessary to find a Pokémon Center as soon as possible, but there wasn't one in anywhere really close to them. Serena then pulled another machine out of her bag and pressed it several times.

Looking at her, her expression didn't change and she sighed with sadness, putting away her tablet and then worried about the Pokémon in her arms.  
"Kero, kero?" Satoshi asked, even though he knew she wouldn't understand what he was trying to say. And yet, as if she understood him, Serena answered. "There's no Pokémon Center in the area, so I've to use my first aid kit."

The Fennekin fidgeted while its eyes were still closed. Serena, in surprise, took the fox against her as the tiny one tried to scream and go under the frog boy's gaze with a wide-open expression. Serena gritted her teeth, realizing the Pokémon must have become panicked because it'd been attacked. Watching Serena fight for the Pokémon to stay calm, Satoshi noticed how she and he were similar. Serena never wanted others to be harmed, having been exactly the same yesterday, except that in place of Fennekin, he'd been in her arms, and she'd done everything to make him feel as good as she could.

His thoughts seemed to be correct, until the Fennekin planted its teeth in the arm of the young honey blond.

"Kero!" Satoshi called out.

Serena had a closed eye in pain and tried to stroke the fox to calm it down, while Satoshi looked at her anxiously, ready to attack if it went too far, even if he knew no move.  
However, after petting the Pokémon's head, it opened its eyes and let go of the girl's arm to look around. It saw the Froakie and then heard a human moan,quickly noticing where it came from. Serena was now relaxed, though still in a bit of pain, and offered a smile as she saw the Fennekin had its eyes open.

"Ah, you're fine!" she exclaimed without caring too much about the pain.

The Fennekin gasped and felt ashamed, its heart beating fast. The girl stroked the Pokémon, making it understand that nothing had happened. She put the fox on the ground and took her bag to search for the first aid kit. She pulled out a bottle and cottons, gently tending to the various wounds while the Pokémon grimaced in different ways. Then, when she had finished, she bandaged the wounds and at the end she took another box, the box that Satoshi was starting to know, and served a pokepuffle to the fox. It sniffed first, then tasted it slowly, being delighted at the end. When it was done, Serena tried to touch the little Pokémon in an attempt to figure out its gender. She discovered that it was a female. She then caressed the fox on her head again and reassured her.

"Everything's alright now."

The little fox felt so good, her head leaning into Serena's palm. As she kept going , she moved closer to the knee of the new trainer and looked at her arm. She shuddered as she watched the wound. Serena took Fennekin in her arms again and hugged her.

The Froakie blinked several times. Serena's kindness was totally something else, and it was certainly her smile that gave a feeling of well-being. As she continued to stroke her, she put her eyes on him too. Once again, he felt another shiver in his body, still something similar that he'd already felt earlier. He decided to turn around, not wanting to be confronted by that again.

"Do you've a trainer?" Serena asked, looking at Fennekin now.

As she asked the question, Fennekin shuddered and retracted herself, as if a painful memory came back to her. Sadness was visible on the face of the girl and she patted Fennekin's yellow fur. With her hand, she could feel the chills and, especially, the fear of the little Pokémon. Noticing her fur clenching under her hand, she felt it wasn't a subject to be discussed at the moment. She reassured Fennekin several times, whose her nose fell back into the corner of her arm.

"Everything will be fine, you're safe." she spoke. The problem was that she didn't know what to do. It seemed like this Pokémon still had a trainer, but also a problem with her original trainer. Serena really hoped she wasn't abandoned. She put the Pokémon on her paws on the ground and watched her walk to see if she could still stand. Satoshi had turned around and slowly approached her while observing. Fennekin was frightened of the frog, freezing on the spot as her tail was much thicker than normal. But the young trainer reassured her and pointed to her companion.

"Don't be afraid, he's my friend."

Satoshi might have thought that in his new form, the Pokémon would have approached him with joy, but apparently no, she was still afraid of him. Serena continued to pat the small head of the little Pokémon, still trying to reassure her. Satoshi tried to get closer again and the young fox finally let herself be approached. He finally greeted her with his hand, but Fennekin was still shy. But her expression became one of surprise when she began to smell him. She approached him, her nose moving in all directions and when she arrived at him, she sneezed. The frog had a strange smell. Looking at them, Serena spoke.

"Well, let's see what we're going to do. It looks like you have a trainer and I can't leave you alone. We'll take you to the next Pokémon Center."

An ounce of sadness escaped the little fox again, making her look away. Noticing her reaction, Satoshi clenched his fists in determination, something that amazed Fennekin. Delighted at the display, Serena took Fennekin in her arms and started walking, leaving the frog boy on his own. He was now standing there, staring at her and quite upset at not being in her arms anymore. Serena had stopped and turned towards him, looking at him curiously.

"Are you coming, Froakie?" the girl wondered.

He nodded and started to walk as fast as he could in that form. The march was silent, but without any real tension. Serena was in front of the Froakie, who was feeling a little neglected by the fact that his new friend didn't carry him. After a long walk, the girl raised her head and froze at the sight in front of her, while Satoshi hit his head against her leg. Fennekin looked up too and squeaked when she understood what she'd seen. It was the same for the little Froakie, but he tried not to let it affect him, even if he felt a horrible thrill deep inside him. The Ariados were on different branches of different trees and they were certainly the same ones they'd met earlier, but they seemed more numerous this time around. Serena tried to not think about it, as she turned around and began to run as fast as possible, followed by Satoshi and the large amount of Ariados. Fear had crept deep inside her, which served as her motivation to run as fast as she possibly could. She wanted to scream, but after having thought it over, she looked at her companion and gave him a command.

"Froakie, Water Pulse!"

Satoshi, who was almost in the same situation as her, couldn't bring himself to make an attack, moreover, he really didn't know how to make an attack. While Serena gritted her teeth, because her friend had not made an attack for the moment, she felt something take her feet and tangle them to the floor, dropping the poor Fennekin in pain. Satoshi stopped when he heard the girl fall. Turning around, he noticed that one of the Ariados had used String Shot to tie her legs. He got closer anyway, while Fennekin was struggling to get up and Serena rested on her hands to lift herself up. Turning her head, she noticed the Pokémon spiders coming closer fast.

A shiver ran up his spine and Satoshi couldn't do anything. When he was human, he was tall and strong enough to defend himself, while here he was very small, in the form of a Pokémon and he knew no move to defend himself. Deep down, he felt like he heard a cursed voice inciting him to run away and do what he'd tried to do the day before. He shook his head at whatever that was. He might have become useless, but he wasn't a coward. It wasn't in his nature. He was ready to use his own body to defend this girl!

Before he decided, he saw the little vixen run towards them and she jumped to fly over the girl and with her mouth open, sending a powerful ball of flame, for a Pokémon of her size, at the insect-type Pokémon. Some managed to avoid the attack, while others were hit, but at least they ran away, the fear of fire took over and all of them escaped. She fell to the ground at Serena's feet, but she was unable to stand on her paws for long. She'd exhausted the last of her energy. Serena freed her legs and approached the Pokémon, who was struggling to keep her eyes open. She took her against her and rocked her gently. Behind the two, Satoshi slowly approached with shame. He hadn't done anything. He'd only watched and he had left a wounded Pokémon to defend them instead of him, a Pokémon in good condition. What kind of person was he now?

"Everything's fine! You were very brave!" Serena spoke, comforting Fennekin at the same time.

"Fo...ko..." she responded, being exhausted.

Serena looked at her Froakie. She wasn't mad at her partner, and she knew he was somehow different, but now they had to find a Pokémon Center for Fennekin to recover at.  
They had searched almost everywhere and there was still no Pokémon Center in sight. The sun was setting and still no result, neither a Pokémon Center or a city. Serena was then faced with one of the realities she hoped she'd never have to be faced with. That she would need to sleep under the stars. Fennekin was slowly recovering as Serena had changed her bandages every hour, while Froakie was there and shifting his look between the two of them. The new trainer pulled out her sleeping bag and tried to start a campfire. Seeing how she was trying to do it, Satoshi noticed that she wasn't an expert at all. She just took a lot of wood and two stones in hopes of starting a fire, not wanting Fennekin to use her abilities for something so futile. But seeing that she was struggling, the blue Pokémon went elsewhere to get another piece of wood, one that was much bigger. Serena looked at him in surprise and blinked when she saw him placing the pieces of wood and taking two pieces of wood in order to rub them together and make smoke, until fire appeared. No sound was made, as Serena would never have thought that a Pokémon could make a campfire. Fennekin was no different, sharing a very similar expression to Serena. When the fire finally got big enough, Satoshi sighed and turned to the two females and noticed their expressions. He was almost wondering why they were looking at him like that. He was used to making campfires, having been traveling for five years. For him it was normal.

"Kero..." he finally sighed.

The trainer, impressed, let out a rather embarrassed laugh while scratching her head. But she smiled sincerely afterwards, thanking him with a nod.

"At least you got extraordinary abilities, Froakie."

He just shrugged. Fennekin on the other hand frowned. All that was way too strange for her. This Pokémon in front of her had a strange way of doing things, and a strange smell to him.

The moon was radiant that night and Satoshi was gazing at it. He felt attracted to it, his body wanted something else. He finally looked at Serena who'd put herself in her sleeping bag, the campfire slowly beginning to fade. He had to extinguish it completely, before there was an incident with the fire. Fennekin had gotten closer to Serena's head, her eyes asking if she could join her. Serena gladly accepted when she opened her bag, allowing her to enter.

"Froakie, you can come-" she didn't finish when she noticed her first Pokémon trying to put out the fire by tapping on it. Rather strange to see a water-type which didn't use any of its abilities to extinguish a fire. Fennekin was almost exasperated.

Eventually being successful, Satoshi turned to Serena again who, as before, was both embarrassed, but also smiling. She tried to lower the tension by asking what she wanted to say earlier.

"You're coming to sleep with me?"

He tensed, his whole life, and even his journey, never, nobody, had asked him something like that. He'd slept together with his mother when he was a child often because of a nightmare, but he'd mostly slept together with Pikachu after that. And here, despite being a Pokémon, a little Pokémon, it was still weird. Sleeping with a person. With a girl. He froze for a moment, looking at the place she was offering him, as if he was paralyzed. Then he shook his head and decided to approach and say that it wasn't serious, he was a Pokémon and there was nothing more.

Serena was lying down with the entire blanket on her. She looked at the fox Pokémon, who was looking at the frog just as oddly as her, and then at her partner, Froakie, and finally she spoke softly. "Sweet dreams."

Serena closed her eyes, feeling reassured to be with two Pokémon.

Later during the night, Satoshi did everything he could to sleep, but he simply couldn't. Not finding any sleep, he decided to get out of the sleeping bag of his trainer and walk a little to see if he could sleep afterwards. Unfortunately, as he walked away, he didn't suspect that the other Pokémon had raised her head to look at him suspiciously.

Satoshi went further and further away and his current form, being so small, didn't help him at all. He thought back to yesterday. How had he managed to become human again? And by which miracle did he become a Pokémon again this morning? Thinking about all of it hurt his head and as he walked, he stumbled upon a big pond. The water was clear and he could see his reflection, his eyes being on the outside of his head gave him a terrible headache. He sighed loudly. Raising his head, he saw the moon. And then, in realization, he looked at the water again. Last night, he became human again in a lake as well. He decided to jump in, staying under the surface of the water as he was swimming. He then raised his head so he could take a few breaths again. He looked at his body through the water, but nothing had changed.

"Kero?" he wondered what was different, since he'd done the same thing as yesterday.

And then, he noticed something else. The light of the moon wasn't illuminating the pond. It was hidden under tree branches filled with leaves. He thought it might be stupid, but he decided to give it a try anyway. He plunged his head under the water and swam to the illuminated part and finally, he felt a tingling sensation. The same as this morning, the same as yesterday. His body gained a new feeling and although he shone like a Pokémon that was evolving, he felt his body expand in one direction. This time, the effect of the water on his body was totally different. He exhaled as best he could, his head out of the water, and tried to calm himself, as otherwise he could drown at any moment. He swam, his arms stretching out, and then saw them. As he used his legs to keep his head out of the water, he examined his right arm. His skin was back to its true skin color. He smiled and then headed towards the edge of the water, feeling his feet touch the ground. His feet were still in the water, but he was already beginning to fully enjoy being human again. Smiling, he let out a sneeze. His body was human, and naked again, and he was cold.

"How am I going to..." he wondered to himself, realizing he didn't know where the next Pokémon Center was and that he couldn't go and see Serena like this. Satoshi sighed, his situation being far too complicated for his liking.

"Finally, you seem to begin to understand. I thought it would take more time for you to understand this." a female voice said.

Satoshi gasped, hearing a voice he knew, as if it was the voice of a nightmare that haunted him. Turning his head slowly, he saw the silver-haired girl with violet highlights, her blue-gray eyes, that felt like they were trying to piece his mind, and her smile just disgusted him. A thick horn was on her head. Rage began to seize his body, and while grinding his teeth, Satoshi walked toward her.

"You! It's because of you!" he shouted, hardly getting the words out. "It's because of you I'm here!"

He was finally facing her, but the little girl didn't care about his reaction and her head was looking down, as if she was interested in something else.  
"So tiny..." she remarked, looking at what she was interested in.

Satoshi's eyes widened and his anger increased as she didn't react to him, but he lowered his head as well to understand what she was looking at. Realizing what she was looking at, blood rose to his face as he felt more shame than he'd felt in a long time. He ran to the pond and crouched in the water, arms around his knees, so that she could no longer see any part of his body he didn't want her to see. He looked at the girl again with a look of hatred, even though his cheeks were completely red with shame.

Estelle was very much indifferent to the situation at hand. It seemed like it wasn't a problem for her. She approached the lake gently and then began to speak with a soft voice. "So, are you used to your new life?"

He bit his lower lip and his eyebrows furrowed more and more as she got closer and continued to speak. "Let's say you start getting used to it."

"Where's Pikachu!?" he shouted at her. "What did you do to him?!"

She put her hands on her hips, trying to understand why he was thinking so much of his Pokémon, rather than focusing on himself. "As he was of no use to me, I returned him to your house, where he's currently with your mother."

Slowly but surely, he calmed down, tried to stop biting his cheek and turned his eyes away, a weight disappearing inside his chest. He was now reassured that his partner was with his mother and not anywhere else. Knowing that, he sighed and turned his head towards her, keeping his gaze on her.

"Stop the curse!" Satoshi exclaimed.

"Eh?" Estelle let out a noise of confusion, blinking at the exclamation.

"Stop the curse and give me back my life!" Satoshi continued.

Estelle put her hands on her hips, visibly irritated at what he was saying. "Are you kidding me?"

"I don't want to be a Pokémon, I want to go home!"

Estelle made an exasperated sound and slapped her hand on his forehead. "How are you this stupid…? I can't stop the curse!"

"And why not?" he asked, using the same tone as her.

"Because I'm limited in terms of power! I can't cancel it anymore! Only you can break it!"

"I won't do anything until you stop the curse!"

Blood rushed to her face, almost bleeding from her nose, making Estelle red with anger as Satoshi kept irritating her. She clenched her fists hard and continued to argue with him. "You're really irritating. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?!"

Instead of looking even more agitated than he already did, Satoshi smirked and looked at the girl with half-closed eyes. "You said it yourself, I'm tenacious."

She grit her teeth at the fact that he annoyed her close to her breaking point. If he had the ability to do anything for her, she knew that he wouldn't do it. Not like it mattered, as she had to get things moving as quickly as possible. She let her exasperated look disappear and tried to appear more neutral by hiding her eyes with her hair.

"Do not force me do that..."

He tilted his head, looking a little more intrigued by her words. "What do you mean?"

She raised her head and now looked much more severe and threatening than she had earlier. "Do not make me want to hurt those you love to force you to do what I ask you to do."

Her voice was hard and she seemed much more mature than the girl's voice that came from her body. A shiver ran through his spine. Satoshi imagined Pikachu and his mother facing her, now that he had a glimpse of her powers, especially with what she'd done to Team Rocket. There was no doubt that she was serious.

"You're not going to..." he started, but didn't finish his sentence when he saw the girl's face.

"If you do what must be done, I will not do anything to them."

Grinding his teeth, he felt pressured by her words.

"I don't want to stay in this form." he said as he tightened his arms against himself.

"Do you think it amuses me to stay in this form as well?"

He gasped at her words.

"I will have to remind you that I am cursed myself! I have to take this juvenile form to avoid using too much of my energy!"

He tried to remember, he knew she was special, but she hadn't mentioned more than that she was indeed cursed too. Estelle turned around and crossed her arms, wanting to appear superior. "I'm not a nine-year old girl! I'm a very beautiful young woman!"

He sighed, as if he was tired of it, realizing how she was just as narcissistic as many of the girls he knew. At this point, he was kinda getting used to it.

"I am one of the most powerful witches." she said in a chilling tone.

He stopped mentally making fun of her when she turned her head toward him saying these words. A witch...After what she had done to him, he could understand why she called herself that. Someone like her, a psychic, had to be terrifying. Then he looked at her horn and he wondered if she really was a witch, or something else completely. Yet when his mother used to read fairy tales to him when he was a child, every time there was a mention of a witch, it was often the old and ugly woman who ate children. Unlike the other psychics, she seemed to have a lot more power than a lot of people he'd met. Thinking about her, he realized that he could discern her aura. Her aura was terrifying. He tightened his knees against himself, figuring that he'd found himself with a really big problem.

"Who… who did that to you?" he asked without really raising his head towards her, preferring to keep looking down.

Estelle relaxed her body and a drop of blood fell from her nose. She didn't notice it and just answered. "Another witch."

Satoshi didn't flinch, as the use of that word was far too normal, yet a shiver ran down his back. If another witch had done that to her, did that mean that this other witch was very powerful?

Maybe there was a reason why she'd cursed Estelle, but he had nothing to do with it. He could still find this witch and ask her to undo the spell. Satoshi almost wanted to add something, but Estelle beat him to it.

"Please, do everything possible to never cross paths with her."

The boy in the water clenched his eyes, surprised that she could have read his mind. Panicked, he looked at the girl again, who still had her back turned to him.

"If you meet her, then it will be the end for you. Do not try to compromise with her, do not try anything, because whatever you do, she will always be ahead of you." she paused and turned back to him, noticing the boy's open mouth. "In this world there is nothing more cruel than this freak."

The teenager closed his mouth and swallowed hard, noticing the bleeding nose of the young witch. He was shocked at the sight, but also for what she'd just said. How terrifying had someone to be to be called a freak by her? He realized that there was almost no way out. He finally had to accept his situation and learn more about it.

"How do I break the curse?" he asked, but the blood on her face intrigued him too much, so he turned his head away at the same time.

The _witch_  smiled and what Satoshi said amazed her. "You must find something that will make you complete. Then you will be able to break the curse."

He began to stir at her explanation. "But how? What'll make me complete? Why do you think I'm incomplete?"

She pretended to think by putting her index finger on her chin. "Well, what you are missing is something you did not manage to obtain on your travels?"

The boy gasped at that moment. The thing he missed, the thing he hadn't managed to get during his travels. He knew what she was talking about. "I have to win a League, right?"

"Oh." Estelle didn't manage any other reaction to his guess, some of her seriousness slipping away right then.

"That's it, right? I have to win a Pokémon League!"

She bit the inside of her mouth and then shrugged, not sure of the answer he had given, but, in a sense, it could be a solution. "If you think that is what you are missing, then yes, maybe that is it."

"But..." he stopped looking at his body through the water. "I don't understand. How do I become a human again and how do I become a Pokémon again?"

Estelle sighed loudly again, but responded immediately. "The rules of the curse are simple. You can only become a human again when you are in fresh water under the moonlight." she explained to him. "If your human body touches the sunlight, then you will become a Pokémon again."

That's why he was a human again today and yesterday he was a Pokémon. Everything was clear to him now. It wasn't due to the fact that it was day or night, but due to a question of sunlight and moonlight.

"But why do I need water to become human again?"

"Your Froakie body needs to hydrate. In this way, under the moon, it activates your human part that wakes up and lets your Pokémon part sleep."

"My Pokémon part?"

"Yes. Because of the curse, you're no longer completely human. You are just made up of two halves."

He was made up of two halves. Half human. Half Pokémon. These words began to resonate in him now. His heart was beating so hard, he realized that something inside him had changed forever. He wouldn't be the same anymore. He looked all over his body through the water. His human form depended only on the moon and the water, meaning he should avoid the sun at all costs.

"I do not know what you are thinking now." Estelle's voice removed him from his thoughts as blood ran down her forehead. "But do not try to stay in one of your forms for too long. There needs to be a proper balance between them."

He gently released his legs forward and gave her a look of confusion, but as he tried to say something, the blood on her stopped any thought he had. "What do you mean?"

"As I told you, you must have a balance between your two forms. You can not stay in one of your forms for too long, because the other will have the need to manifest," she let out a small sigh and wiped her nose. "Well, only in one sense."

Not understanding the meaning of her words, Satoshi changed his position and put his hands forward, ending up being on all four in the water as parts of his body began to come out of the water. "What do you mean by that?"

The witch raised an eyebrow, a smirk on her lips. "I think it is best that you discover it for yourself."

He frowned more and more at her words. With a long sigh, he sat down in the water again and folded his arms, tired of her. The fact that she was bleeding in front of him disturbed him him a lot, though it didn't seem to bother the witch.

"By the way, what're you doing here if you can't go back to your home?" he asked softly.

At first she gasped, then laughed at what he'd just said, but she recovered quickly.

"I am just a mere astral projection," she said, and then the boy noticed that blood began to slip down her chest, flowing elsewhere all over her body. "I only appear in your head."

With the same petty smile, she moved closer to the boy, walking into the water while the cursed boy tried to back off, horrified that more and more blood was pouring all over the girl, but she managed to grab the chin of the boy. Although he couldn't feel anything, he was disgusted and terrified to see several streams of blood running down the girl's body. There was even more when he saw Estelle's head.

"One last rule. Do not try to transform if there is an eclipse," her tone was utterly serious as her face was covered in blood. It made him nod his head without asking a question. "That is good, my  **little frog boy**. I am counting on you to succeed, unlike the others."

She released him and left the lake. Satoshi looked at her again, still just as frightened.

"Oh, and one last thing. You will never be able to talk about this curse to any human being. That would be too easy," Estelle said without turning around. "And I think you should stay with this girl. When you have managed to break the curse, I would love to meet her."

She had only turned her head slightly, but he could see her smile, blood running down from her mouth. And then she disappeared in a particle explosion. After the rather rude disappearance, he blinked several times, letting his brain process everything he'd just experienced. He tried to summarize everything he knew. He was cursed by a witch who wants him to break the curse by himself, so she could be free her from her own. For that to happen he must become complete by winning a League. He had to win it in the form of a Pokémon as he had to be in the water and under the moon in order to become human again, while the sun would result in the opposite happening. Thinking about it, Serena was his trainer now, and she'd just started her journey, but with the little he knew about her, he'd seen that she didn't seem to be very interested in Gyms for the moment. There was also the fact that he didn't even know how to use moves.

His head hurt from thinking too much, so he let out a sigh of despair. The wind on his naked back made him shiver. Turning around, he was surprised to see Fennekin, with bulging eyes, looking at him, and based on what she was looking at, he understood that she had been there a long time.

The two stared at each other for a minute, until one of them finally reacted.

"Hi..." Satoshi said, trying to sound ignorant.

Fennekin took another look and pointed at the boy's head and bombarded him with several barks without the boy being able to understand, since he was no longer a Froakie. He didn't know what she was saying, but by the looks of it, she seemed rather angry.

"Fokko! Fokkooo!"

"Please, calm down." he pleaded desperately at the little fox who kept assaulting him with her barks.  
The little one didn't stop and kept making noise. Satoshi bit his bottom lip and felt ashamed.

"You saw everything, didn't you?" he asked in order to make the Pokémon stop.

She stopped slowly, but she began to growl. It did nothing calm her anger apparently.

"I'm not a Froakie..." he said, despite of her continuing grunts.

He remembered Estelle's words, that he could never tell anyone about his curse, but maybe he could tell a Fennekin about it. Was there a difference? He tried to ignore the idea and continued his explanation.

"I was cursed by a witch. I've to find a way to return to my human form permanently."

Instead of barking at him, she'd turned her head up towards the sky with her eyes closed, as if she'd heard enough, bored of the boy who was hiding under the water.  
"I swear, it's true! Please don't say anything to Serena!"

She quickly focused back on him, Fennekin beginning to growl in his direction at the mention of her trainer's name.

"What?" he asked, rather hurt. "I wouldn't do anything to Serena! After all, I'm her..." Although he had thought about it this morning, what was he supposed to be to her? Obviously her first Pokémon. But she didn't know his human form. "I'm her friend," he answered simply. Still suspicious, Fennekin stopped her growling, but didn't let her gaze stray from him.

"Fooo, ko!"

"I won't do anything to her!"

"Ko." Fennekin seemed to be ending the argument about it.

"So you won't say anything? And you believe me, don't you?"

Her eyes were half-lidded, still suspicious. Clearly, she wouldn't believe him that easily.

"Look, you saw what happened, right? And the witch explained to me what I had to do."

This time she was confused, but still suspicious. Holding her head low, she tried to figure out what the naked human boy was trying to make her understand. Based on her expression, he remembered what Estelle told him about her appearance to him. She'd appeared in front of him and not in front of others. If Fennekin had seen everything, she'd have seen him talking to no one, like a crazy naked boy. The blood rose quickly to his head. He tried to force himself to forget and act quickly by presenting all the information he'd learned, forcing himself to ignore his nervousness.

"Listen, I'm cursed. I turn into a Froakie every time I go under the sun and I become a human again when I'm under the moon and in the water. And to break this damn curse, I've to win a Pokémon League!" he breathed heavily, even screaming at the end.

"Pff," the little fox whispered.

"Hey! I didn't ask to be cursed. I didn't ask for anything. I just want to be with Pikachu and continue my journey!"

She finally turned her eyes to him, but seemed indifferent. After a few seconds of thinking she sighed.

"So, are you going to help me?"

She didn't nod, only looking at him with half-lidded eyes.

"Fo." her expression was completely neutral that the human didn't know whether she had agreed to helping him or not. He scratched his head.

"Well, I'll take that as a yes..."

And then the little fox went to where the girl was, leaving the boy paddling in the water. "Hey, wait!"

Fennekin stopped.

"Can you bring me something to keep me warm?"

Fennekin looked at him, though she didn't react in any way as she continued on her way, leaving him alone.

"Hey!" he shouted again.

Being in situation he was in was a pretty big problem and yesterday he'd been lucky. Today he'd have to spend his night naked in the water. Wind caressed the shoulders of the boy, so he sank as best he could into the water in attempt to find the warmth deeper in the pond. Nothing helped though, as the more he sank into the lake, the more he could feel the cold and the pressure of the depth. When he was a Froakie the cold didn't seem to bother him, his body adjusting to the temperature. But here, in his human form, his body didn't and he had to wait for the sun to rise so he could change his form.

Satoshi heard a strange noise and then, to his surprise, he saw Fennekin dragging a pale pink towel, which probably belonged to Serena, with her mouth. It seemed to bother her to do that for him. He moved closer to her, without getting out of the water, and took the towel when she let go. He put it around him, getting up with only his feet left in the water. He looked at her, lowering his head and then gave her a soft smile.

"Thank you."

"Ko," she answered, bored.

He decided to move to lean against a tree while he was still being watched by the little fox.

"What if we tried to be friends?" he asked.

Fennekin didn't react, instead preferring to leave again, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation and seeming incredibly embarrassed. He watched her go rather confused, having thought she just had to get used to it. It made him wonder if Serena would react the same way if she learned the truth. Would she reject him? He shuddered, probably because of the wind and his body still being wet. He tightened the towel around himself and began to wait. He thought hard about Pikachu and how he was dealing with the situation. Without him he was certainly lost and worried. He hoped that everything would return to normal as soon as possible, even if it might take a very long time until it did. Soon he fell asleep.

* * *

Satoshi awoke and with some difficulty. He'd been sitting all night leaning against a tree, with Serena's towel around him, and his entire body felt numb. He sneezed. Sleeping naked didn't help either. Amazing that no one had found him here alone, not even a Pokémon.

Looking at his surroundings, he saw that the sun was lighting up the lake in front of him, but wasn't high enough in the sky to illuminate his body. The tree against which he was leaning covered him from the light. The witch had been right. It was only if the sunlight touched him that he could change his form.

He took a long breath before he got up, slowly getting out of the shade of the tree, though he stopped for a moment. What could he do during the day? It was absolutely necessary to learn how to use his moves if he has to win the League. Not like that mattered if he couldn't get Serena to participate in the League and battle against the Gym Leaders. It might be too much for her. He still hoped she would. After all, wasn't that why she had gone on a journey? Though not like he really knew, since he still didn't know her real intentions and her purpose. Did she also have a dream? Trying to get to know Serena better and being able to use his abilities were his goals for the day. Thereafter he went into the sunlight.

He barely had time to sigh as his body changed shape, feeling the same sensation as last time. Now in his much smaller form, he turned his head several times to see if somebody had seen him, but no one obviously had. He took the towel in one hand and brought it back with him to find Serena. Arriving at the little camp, he saw the girl looking in her bag, her hat on the ground, and Fennekin sitting next to her, who noticed him but didn't welcome him. The honey blond haired girl finally turned her head towards him, immediately spotting him.

"Ah, Froakie!" she exclaimed, letting go of her bag and heading towards him. "I'm so glad you're finally here."

She took him in her arms and hugged him, surprised to see her towel with him. She didn't ask about it and brought him to her bag.

"I was worried when I woke up, since you were gone, but Fennekin let me know you weren't far away."

Satoshi turned his head to Fennekin, quite surprised when she still didn't look at him. The young human girl put him next to the fox and continued her search in her bag.

"You seem to be good friends, you two," she commented as she searched her bag.

The two looked at each other, Satoshi's eyes going wide and sparkling, reassured that the female Pokémon was finally considering him a friend after what happened last night. That was until he noticed her jaded expression.

Serena finally found what she was looking for and took out a small bag of wet wipes, from which she took one and wiped her face with. Satoshi noticed it and finally understood where the smell of Jasmine came from. Serena was a person who paid attention to herself and who therefore smelled nice by using a wipe, a bit like Hikari. Once she was finished, she put away all her belongings, and put her hat on and her bag on her shoulders.

"You guys ready to go?" she asked happily.

They nodded their heads with different expressions, Satoshi being excited and Fennekin looking indifferent, and they began to walk at a slower pace. The frog boy looked several times at the little vixen who had almost no reaction to him. She really didn't seem to be paying attention to him.

"Kero!" he tried to start a conversation with her, but he went ignored. He tried to get closer to her, prompting her to move away with her head held high. "Kero..." he sighed.

Was there a feeling of uneasiness coming from him? Whatever her reason for not wanting to have a conversation with him, it irritated him.

"When we get to Santalune City we'll meet Calem and go directly to the Pokémon Center," Serena began to explain. "There's something we have to do for you, Fennekin!" Serena had turned to look at the little fox, who'd stopped and was just as shocked. The girl crouched in front of her and gave her a pat on the head.

"You'll see, everything will be fine."

Fennekin's eyes began to shine, as since yesterday the trainer had never ceased to be so sweet to her. She could only imagine her future if she became her Pokémon  
"Ro." the Froakie mocked from behind her, which made her feel annoyed. Yes, of course, there was him. Since she spied on him yesterday and learned that this Pokémon was not a Pokémon, and especially since he was talking to an imaginary person on his own, she couldn't trust him that easily.

Serena got up and continued, while leading her small group. The frog boy stopped worrying about the other Pokémon and now focused on his trainer. He had to ask her, or to make her understand, that she had to participate in the Pokémon League. He decided to run to her under the watchful eyes of the fox and called to her in his language.

"Kero! Kero!"

"What is it, Froakie?" Serena asked, stopping and focusing on him.

"Kero!"

She bent down and picked him up.

"What is it?" she asked again.

"Kero! Keromatsu!"

The sweet girl blinked in confusion, while Fennekin understood perfectly and seemed totally bored.

"Fokooo..." she mumbled.

Satoshi frowned in her direction, having fully understood what she'd said and it was quite insulting. He decided to ignore her and keep talking to the only human, but Serena smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry, Froakie, but I don't understand what you wanna tell me."

The frog boy suddenly stopped. That's right, he was no longer human, and Serena didn't have a powerful bond to her Pokémon yet, making her unable to understand him in the same way he understood Pikachu. Seeing him being discouraged, she caressed his head with confidence.

"But it doesn't matter, you can try to show me!"

The frog raised his head slowly at what she'd just said. Serena was trying to at least understand him in another way. He didn't know if it'd work, but he'd have to hope. Before Satoshi could do anything else both of them heard a scream from the fox. When both of them turned to look at what just had happened, they could see Fennekin being held by a mechanical hand that was attached to a familiar balloon.

Laughter was quickly heard. Satoshi frowned with discontent, easily recognizing the laughter.

_Not them again._

Three strange characters appeared in the basket. All sneered at the new trainer, while the poor fox wiggled in all directions to escape the hand without any real success.

"Fennekin!"

"Fokoo!"

Seeing the pain that the poor little Pokémon must be in, only made worse by the damage she'd already taken the previous day, Satoshi could feel the arms of his trainer tightening against him.

"Who're you and why're you doing this?!"

"Why're you doing this, she asked." a rather feminine voice responded.

"Probably because our goal would be to make our boss proud." a second, masculine, voice continued.

"The pity of the world is what responds!"

"To prevent the destruction of the world!"

"To protect the peace of the world!"

"To stand by the evils of truth and love!"

"The lovely, charmy villains!"

"Musashi!"

"Kojiro!"

"The pair from Team Rocket soars through the galaxy!"

"A white hole, a white tomorrow awaits us!"

"Something like that!"

"Sonansuuuu!"

Shortly after their speech, the duo, alongside a Wobbuffet, revealed themselves as if they were a group of super villains from some comic. Serena, while tightly holding her friend against her, blinked several times. Why did these people want to take the Fennekin she'd met? She didn't notice that her Froakie was gritting his teeth.

"Team Rocket?" she wondered. "But why do you want to take this Pokémon?! She didn't do anything to you!"

The tall woman, Musashi, laughed at the words of the inexperienced trainer. "As if that matters to us! A Pokémon as rare as this one's clearly a wonderful gift for the Boss!"

"And we even said that a small bonus can always make him happy," Kojiro also replied.

At the same time, Nyarth pulled a lever that revealed a second mechanical hand. Satoshi felt his pupils widen when he realized that this time it was meant for him. In his frog form, Satoshi was nothing to them but what they saw in Pikachu during these last years. Serena hadn't taken a step back, but Satoshi tried to defend himself anyway. He jumped from the girl's arms and with both hands he managed to create a ball of water that he launched against the machine. With the force he'd used, the metal hand faltered, having seemed to have lost its maneuverability. Falling back to the ground, Satoshi looked at his hands, surprised and excited, but shocked at what he'd just done. It had felt natural. He'd managed to use his first attack.

In the basket of the balloon, Musashi showed clear discontent and grabbed Kojiro by his shirt collar.

"Can you explain to me what exactly happened?"

"Well..." the blue haired man tried to justify himself. "You see, we're still in the beta version of our devices and we used more resources to protect our tools against electricity. You know, it's a habit-"

She didn't give him time to answer as she started to shout at him so that they could find another way to catch the Froakie. At the same time Nyarth tried the best he could to operate the metal hand.

Meanwhile, the frog boy took the opportunity to climb on the dysfunctional metal limb and hang on to the long thick pipe, continuing his way up in an attempt to get to the basket.

"Froakie!" he heard Serena panicking, but he couldn't care about her currently. He had to rescue Fennekin.

"Ah, I think we finally have a new passenger!" Nyarth exclaimed.

Musashi and Kojiro looked over the basket and saw that the frog was getting closer by climbing the metal pipe. He winced as he had his arms pressed against the metal part. At least he was in the air, though the wind pushed him back, but he didn't let go. He wouldn't stop. He climbed to reach the trio who hadn't removed their gaze from him. When he reached them, the frog managed to stand up in a determined pose. The two human adults opened their eyes wide and began to move to catch him, but before they could get to him, the blue frog darted forward and took the foam around his neck and threw it on the heads of his two old enemies. The woman screamed as the man stepped back to find the Pokémon cat screaming while he was in control of the machine. At the same time, the metal arm moved in all directions, and Satoshi took the opportunity to move to the other arm where he went to find the little fox.

"Fokkooooo!" she cried out as the hand moved in all directions.

The path was difficult, but Satoshi managed to reach it. He tried to loosen the big metal hand and then he held out his little hand to her. "Kero!"

Fennekin watched him, first looking at his hand and then his eyes. At first she was reluctant, but seeing the serious look of the frog, she experienced a feeling of guilt. She was afraid of this Pokémon, this human. She didn't know even what he really was. His special behavior, his way of doing things, everything he did was so strange to her. What he said last night, what if it really was true?

In the end, she held out her paw to him, which he grabbed and pulled, helping her out. He grabbed her, making it clear that they had to jump. The little vixen's eyes widened, and before she could say anything, they jumped.

"Damn, they're escaping!" the Pokémon cat shouted.

Fennekin screamed with her eyes closed, with Satoshi looking at the ground that was getting closer to them fast. But before they touched it, he felt two protective arms tighten against them. He had the impression that everything was slowed down at that moment, and that everything returned to normal when the person who caught them had fallen to the ground.

He looked up, looking at Serena whose face was showing her being in pain. He examined her in more detail, but as she moved slowly, her expression forced itself to smile and her eyes opened to look at the two Pokémon in her arms.

"Are you two okay?" she asked softly.

The frog's eyes twinkled and he smiled at her. He tried to show that he was fine, while Fennekin next to him still had her ears down, but nodded when she heard Serena. She got up with her two little friends, and looked up to see the thieves, whose balloon had crashed to the ground at the same time, leaving the basket angrily.

Musashi was the first to get out of the basket grunting and still had moss tangled in her hair, while her teammate had managed to remove it and was just as angry as the young woman beside him.

"You're going to regret this!" she yelled while pointing at the blue frog.

Satoshi smiled mischievous. He turned his head to Serena, who hadn't lost sight of the trio that was in front of her.

"Kero! Kerooo!" he called out.

She stopped looking at them, instead looking down at him with surprise. Before she said anything, Satoshi reassured her with a confident smile, and lifted one of his hands as if he was gesturing to her, showing her a thumbs up, that everything would be fine. Serena didn't know what to say, but the frog boy jumped from her arms, while the fox let out a little cry. Once on the ground, he nodded to her.

"What are you going to do?" the lavender-haired man asked. "Do you think you can beat us that easily? We've already dealt with a twerp much tougher than you."

Satoshi gave them a serious look, while frowning with his invisible eyebrows.

_It wasn't over yet._

"Kero! Kerororo!" he yelled at his trainer, hoping she understood.

Strangely, Fennekin jumped from Serena's arms as well, and stood next to him. Both in a determined position, ready to fight.

Satoshi felt like there was a huge knot in his stomach. He was no longer the trainer now, it wasn't his role, he was the Pokémon. Only half as Estelle had told him, but for the first time, he was really going to experience what all of his companions had gone through when they'd faced these idiots. It was only a slight sense of excitement running through his veins, as he was finally going to do it himself.

Damn, how'd he feel if it was a match against a Gym Leader?

Serena gulped, watching the trio with the Wobbuffet that was now in front of them. Before she could say anything, Fennekin rushed towards them, something that also shocked the frog. She rushed furiously and threw a small ball of fire from her mouth, like yesterday. Only, when the flame reached the Psychic-type Pokemon, he surrounded himself a strange light around his body that reflected the attack as soon as it hit him, returning to where it had come from.

"Koooo!" she yelled the moment her own attack hit her, sending her flying.

Serena yelped and rushed towards her, managing to catch her.

"Fennekin! Oh god, not again..."

Satoshi had enough and rushed towards them, not able to wait any longer.

"Froakie!" Serena screamed as she watched him leave.

But he didn't listen. He jumped as high as he could, in order to be able to attack them.

"Get ready, Wobbuffet," Musashi instructed, while everyone else smiled.

But Satoshi knew what they were going to do. He took the foam around his neck and sent it at the big blue Pokémon. Although the strange Pokémon did the same technique from earlier, the foam landed on him and remained stuck.

"Soooooo?!" the Pokémon yelled.

Both humans reacted the same way. Satoshi landed close to Serena. He turned to her, and spoke in the same tone as earlier, saying the same thing. "Kero!"

Serena got up slowly and she stared at him surprised. She examined his gestures and the way he spoke. He asked her something, that was for sure. But what...?

She suddenly realized it. She swallowed the saliva in her mouth, and without thinking, she raised the hand that didn't hold the other Pokémon and pointed to the group.

"Froakie, use Water Pulse!" she commanded.

Satoshi smiled. She finally understood. And like a Pokémon would, he obeyed. He rushed back to his enemies, who were trying to clean the other Pokémon, and with his hands he sent the strongest orb of water he could at them. When the orb hit them, it made them fly towards the balloon, making it explode. They took off from the ground and were sent flying. It was far too loud to understand anything they'd said, besides them having screamed something incomprehensible.

On the ground, watching them disappear, Satoshi was amazed by the power he'd managed to achieve with the help of an innocent smile. In the end he'd figured out how to use his abilities, and now he would've to train a lot to get a better grasp on them. Before he could think of anything else, a pair of arms grabbed him around his waist and pushed him against something hard, but also soft.

"Froakie," Serena whispered. "You managed to use your first move!"

She loosened her grasp on him a little and looked him in the eyes. "You even saved Fennekin!"

In Serena's blue eyes, Satoshi could see as if they were filled with thousands of stars. It was a strange effect, but he could understand that with the events that'd just happened she was a little bit out of it, and that exhaustion was getting to her. But that's how a journey was. Facing all the dangers was something you had to do. The girl tightened her grip on him again.

"I'm so happy that nothing has happened to you at least."

Satoshi was immediately reminded of a previous experience, once again thinking of Pikachu when they met together every time they'd experienced a mishap. By now he knew it. He was very important to her.

He turned his head to Fennekin who was watching them. Satoshi tried to disengage himself from Serena's arms, and once he was on the ground, he slowly went towards the fire-type. Smiling, he raised his arm at her. He waited for a response from her, but Fennekin turned her head, refusing to press her paw against his own. Feeling deflated, he lowered his arm. He'd really expected her to finally accept him, but she still didn't. However, he didn't wait more than ten seconds before Fennekin mumbled something in a small voice.

"Fokoooo..."

Through her fur, Satoshi could see that she was blushing softly. Behind him he could hear a little laugh from Serena. He understood perfectly well what she'd said. He smiled. Maybe not today, but he knew that one day, they'd be good friends.


End file.
